Health ministers from eight Pacific island countries have adopted a plan in cooperation with UNFPA to expand the availability of reproductive health commodities.

The Plan of Action on Reproductive Health Commodities was proposed at a meeting of the World Health Assembly in Geneva. It calls for people in the region to have greater access to a wider variety of contraceptives.

Ministers from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Somolon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu all endorsed the strategy.

Developed in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Medical Trust, the Plan will enable the island countries to collaborate in purchasing contraceptives in bulk and storing them in a central warehouse in Fiji.

The Plan of Action also discusses issues related to maternal health and HIV/AIDS prevention, as well as the inclusion of reproductive health commodities in national budgets.
(Source: UN Wire, 25 May)