Contraception/Emergency Contraception

American Society for Emergency Contraception (ASEC)
ASEC, founded in 1997, is a voluntary collaboration of organizations that aims to improve women's access to emergency contraception in the U.S. ASEC serves as a source of information on EC for the media and others, as a watchdog for inaccurate or biased articles in the press and responds to such articles with accurate letters to the editor. ASEC watches for abuses of reproductive rights related to emergency contraception and draws attention to these problems. Gynuity Health Projects is an active member of ASEC. For additional information please visit http://www.emergencycontraception.org/asec/ or contact AmSocEC@aol.com.

International Consortium for Emergency Contraception (ICEC)
ICEC, bringing together over 30 internationally respected organizations working in the field of family planning, aims to expand access to and ensure safe and locally appropriate use of emergency contraception worldwide within the broader context of family planning and reproductive health, with emphasis on developing countries. Gynuity Health Projects is an active member of ICEC. For more information please visit http://www.cecinfo.org/ or contact info@cecinfo.org. 

Over the Counter Oral Contraception (OTC OC) Initiative 
The OTC OC Initiative is a working group, initiated in 2004, of national NGOs and donors lead by Ibis Reproductive Health, to examine the issues and coordinate strategies for making OCs available over-the-counter (OTC) in the United States. Gynuity Health Projects is a co-convener of this group which develops strategies, research and advocacy activities to make oral contraceptives more accessible to women. For more information, please visit http://www.ibisreproductivehealth.org or contact Kate Schaffer at kschaffer@ibisreproductivehealth.org.

back to top

Abortion/ Medical Abortion/ Postabortion Care

International Consortium for Medical Abortion (ICMA) 
ICMA aims to promote access to medical abortion within the framework of support for safe abortion worldwide. The consortium works to achieve this by advocating for the incorporation of medical abortion services into sexual and reproductive health programs, supporting innovative mechanisms to make high quality products for medical abortion widely available and affordable and making recommendations on programmatic and research needs. Gynuity Health Projects is an active member of ICMA and its president sits on the steering committee of the group. For additional information please visit http://www.medicalabortionconsortium.org or contact Rodica Comendant at rovisei@hotmail.com.

Postabortion Care (PAC) Consortium/ Technologies Task Force
The PAC Consortium was established in 1993 by Ipas, AVSC (now EngenderHealth), JHPIEGO, Pathfinder and IPPF, and additional organizations joined in subsequent years. The mission of the consortium is to encourage USAID, UNFPA and other international donors and agencies in the population/reproductive health field to address the issue of unsafe abortion in their policies and programs, advance awareness of unsafe abortion, mobilize global support for PAC programs and improve the quality of care provided to women. Gynuity is an active member of this group and currently serves as the co-chair of the PAC Technologies Task Force along with John Snow Inc. (JSI). For additional information please visit http://www.pac-consortium.org/ or contact info@pac-consortium.org.

Latin American and Caribbean Consortium against Unsafe Abortion (Consorcio Latinoamericano contra el Aborto Inseguro - CLACAI)

CLACAI, a newly-formed group of advocates, researchers and health providers, was formally created in 2005 to promote safe abortion services in the Latin American region, with an emphasis on the use of medical abortion technology. The objectives of the Consortium are to exchange information among members, strengthen advocacy, research and IEC activities, and support safe service provision. At a recent Consortium meeting in Lima, Peru in May, 2006, several working groups were formed to help develop a scope of work for the years ahead. Gynuity staff participates in two working groups focusing on Research, and Access to Medications. For more information about CLACAI contact Susana Chavez at susana@promsex.org, Dan Grossman at dgrossman@ibisreproductivehealth.org, or Giselle Carino at gcarino@ippfwhr.org.

Misoprostol Alone Working Group

The Misoprostol Alone Working Group was formed in early 2006 in response to an emerging awareness of women’s self-use of misoprostol for abortion in many Latin American countries and in the U.S., particularly among Latina immigrants. Convened by the Abortion Access Project, Gynuity Health Projects, Ibis Reproductive Health and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, the working group serves as a forum for shared learning and discussion among participants regarding a range of issues relating to the use of misoprostol for abortion. At its first meeting, early working group members identified five areas for investigation, discussion and activity. These are Research, Provider Education, Patient Education, Law and Policy, and Media and Messaging.

Working group participation has expanded through professional networks. The group is open to and includes individuals and organizations from within the field of reproductive health and rights, interested in the use of misoprostol for abortion and its implications for women’s access to abortion and other reproductive health care in the U.S. While the working group was formed to promote collaboration and partnership, participation in the group does not signal or require any one participant or organization’s endorsement of another participant or organization’s activities. For mor information contact Melanie Zurek at the Abortion Access Project MZ@abortionaccess.org.

back to top

Maternal and Newborn Health

Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH)
PMNHC, launched in September 2005, unites developing and donor countries, UN agencies, professional associations, academic and research institutions, foundations, and NGOs to intensify and harmonize national, regional and global progress towards the UN Millennium Development Goals 4 & 5. The Partnership supports country-level efforts to expand the reach of essential interventions for reducing maternal, newborn, and child mortality; promote the adoption and development of evidence-based, cost-effective approaches to reduce such mortality; and promote greater coordination and cooperation among all stakeholders. Gynuity Health Projects is a member of this group. PMNCH is hosted by the World Health Organization in Geneva. For more information please visit http://www.pmnch.org or contact info@pmnch.org.

Prevention of Postpartum Hemorrhage Initiative (POPPHI) Working Group
POPPHI is a USAID-funded partnership of PATH, RTI International, and EngenderHealth. The objective of POPPHI is to expand the use of active management of the third stage of labor (AMTSL) for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) at the facility and community level, and to make uterotonic drugs and devices available at low cost to countries. The POPPHI team works closely with a range of international and national partners to share information and, ultimately, increase use of measures effective in the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage. Gynuity Health Projects works with POPPHI to disseminate information on PPH, especially the use of misoprostol for prevention. For additional information please visit the following sites:
http://www.pphprevention.org
http://www.path.org/projects/preventing_postpartum_hemorrhage.php
http://tasc2.rti.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=popphi
http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/mch/mh/news/pophi.html

back to top