PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Michelle Weinberger
AU  - Nicole Bellows
AU  - John Stover
TI  - Estimating private sector out-of-pocket expenditures on family planning commodities in low-and-middle-income countries
AID  - 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004635
DP  - 2021 Apr 01
TA  - BMJ Global Health
PG  - e004635
VI  - 6
IP  - 4
4099  - http://gh.bmj.com/content/6/4/e004635.short
4100  - http://gh.bmj.com/content/6/4/e004635.full
SO  - BMJ Global Health2021 Apr 01; 6
AB  - Introduction The role of the private sector in family planning (FP) is well studied; however, few efforts have been made to quantify the role of private out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures on FP commodities across low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Calculating OOP expenditures is important to illuminate the magnitude of these contributions and to inform discussions on how financial burdens can be reduced.Methods Estimates of FP users and commodities consumed by women getting their FP methods from the private sector were made for 132 LMICs. Next, unit price data were compiled from to estimate the average price of commodities in the private sector at both a commercial and subsidised price point. These unit prices were applied to commodity consumption estimates to calculate total private OOP expenditures. Sensitivity testing was conducted.Results Total estimated private OOP expenditures for FP commodities in 2019 was $2.73 billion across 132 LMICs. Spending on contraceptive pills accounted for 80% of this total, and just over three-quarters of expenditure came from upper-middle-income countries. OOP expenditures on subsidised commodities were small but accounted for 20% of expenditures in low-income countries. Non-subsidised unit prices were found to be between 5 and 20 times higher in upper-middle-income countries compared with low-income countries, although wide variation exists. For low-income and lower-middle-income countries, subsidies appear to be greatest for intrauterine devices (IUDs) and pills.Conclusion Large OOP expenditures across all income levels highlight a need for financing approaches that ensure that a wide range of contraceptives are both accessible and affordable.The majority of data used in the analysis come from publicly available sources; however, a small amount of confidential price data was obtained. Online supplemental appendix 4 shows the median price for available estimates at country level and specific non-public data sources are not identified to protect the confidentiality of data obtained. Some additional details may be available on request if they do not include these confidential sources.