Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Impact Hub is a Private Sector Working Group, led by Population Services International (PSI) Pakistan. In partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Frontier Health Markets (FHM) Engage project, PSI, together with Chemonics International and Pathfinder International, organized the first HMCoP event in Pakistan.
The secretariat of the USAID and UNFPA co-chaired Healthy Markets Community of Practice (HMCoP). The event marked a renewed commitment to collaboration in strengthening family planning (FP) services through the private sector in Sindh, Pakistan.
The Impact Hub is an initiative that was established in 2019 as a Private Sector Working Group (PSWG) to foster collaboration and market shaping in the field of family planning. Led by Population Services International (PSI) and in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and other private sector organizations, the Impact Hub serves as a platform for coordination, advocacy, and thought leadership.
Overall, the Impact Hub represents a collaborative effort among private sector partners to advance family planning, drive market shaping initiatives, and improve access to quality services.
The HMCoP is a global networking initiative which brings together key stakeholders, experts, and organizations dedicated to driving progress in FP market development and private sector engagement. The goal of the group is to develop healthy markets that are responsive, equitable, resilient, led by local actors and driven by consumer needs.
The agenda for this convention in Pakistan was designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the country’s current FP market landscape and highlight successful strategies for addressing FP challenges. Dr. Yasmeen Qazi, Senior Country Advisor on FP and maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a renowned expert in the field, delivered an informative presentation on FP market challenges in Sindh, shedding light on existing gaps and opportunities for improvement.
Frontier Health Markets (FHM) Engage is a ?ve-year cooperative agreement funded by USAID. The project works to improve the market environment for greater private sector participation in the delivery of health products and services and to improve equal access to and uptake of high-quality consumer driven health products, services, and information. FHM Engage is implemented by four core consortium partners – Chemonics International (prime and co-technical lead), Results for Development (R4D) (co-technical lead), Pathfinder International, and Zenysis Technologies – and 16 local, regional, and specialized network implementing partners.
Prominent speakers, including Andrea Bare, Senior Private Sector Technical Advisor from USAID, emphasized the crucial role of collaboration and highlighted the significance of private sector engagement in advancing FP initiatives. The session was followed by an overview of USAID’s FHM Engage project, by Farhan Yusuf, Chief of Party for the FHM Engage activity in Tanzania.
The event featured rapid presentations from eight leading private sector and development organizations. Each showcased their investments and initiatives aimed at addressing FP challenges in the respective sectors. These organizations included DAWAI, Education and Welfare Trust, Greenstar Social Marketing (GSM), Health and Nutrition Development Society (HANDS), Interflow Communications, Marie Stopes Society (MSS), Population Services International (PSI) Pakistan, SINA Health, and ZAFA Pharmaceuticals,representing different market functions including social marketing/franchising, pharmaceuticals/e-pharmacy, manufacturers, digital and tech/social and behavior change communication (SBCC) for market development, primary health care, media, social enterprise, and public private partnership.
Throughout the event, attendees actively engaged in discussions and question-and-answer sessions, providing a valuable platform for exchange of ideas, challenging assumptions, and exploring potential collaborations.
Towards the end of the event, Ayesha Leghari, Country Director and Chair of Impact Hub from PSI Pakistan took the stage to issue a powerful call to commitment for collaboration. Emphasizing the importance of collective efforts, she urged participants to unite their resources and expertise to drive sustainable impact in the family planning market in Sindh.
“We are thrilled with the success of the Healthy Markets Community of Practice platform launch event,” Ayesha Leghari said and added, “The level of engagement and commitment demonstrated by all participants is a testament to our collective determination to create positive change in the family planning landscape. We look forward to leveraging the knowledge and collaborations formed during this event to propel our efforts forward.”
The convention witnessed the participation of a diverse range of institutions, private sector organizations, civil society organizations, and international agencies, all demonstrating their dedication to promoting local private sector engagement and ensuring access to high-quality sexual and reproductive health services for all individuals in the region.