An agreement has been reached between Pfizer, the American laboratory, the Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation to distribute a new contraceptive in 69 poor countries. The large scale availability of this contraceptive will be based on a pilot program that has already been tested in the poorest countries around the world, namely Burkina Faso, Niger and Bangladesh.
This contraceptive called Sayana Press, will be sold at a cost of $1 per dose to aid organisations, which will redistribute the contraceptive to women every three months, either “at a reduced cost or free of charge”. This contraceptive is injected using non-reusable syringes. The Pfizer Laboratory has announced that the drug may have side effects such as loss of bone density.
Dr. Elias, head of development programs at the Gates Foundation, admits that family planning is “a key priority” for the Foundation. The Foundation is financially committed to meeting the targets outlined in the London Summit (2012), which include access to contraception for 120 million women in poor countries between now and 2020.
L’Express 13/11/2014 – Le Parisien 13/11/2014 – Reuters 13/11/2014