The conceptualization of contraceptives as essential commodities for
human well-being brought new urgency in addressing supply gaps caused by increasing demand in the face of insufficient funding and
inadequate service delivery and logistics systems. Financing of commodities
is being tackled through high-profile initiatives at the global
level, but many challenges in building national capacity for commodity
forecasting, procurement, financing, and delivery still remain. There is
also recognition of the fact that efforts to provide contraceptives and
other SRH supplies and services could not be separated from a broader
socio-political environment and the overall functioning of the health
system.To better understand how the interaction of global and local processes
affect contraceptive use and choices at the regional and country levels,
the status of contraceptive security in South-East Asia,iii a region that
has received relatively little attention despite its substantial SRH needs,
is explored in this article. The material presented is based on a synthesis
review of published material, gray literature and internet sources, conducted
in 2009 and published as a report a year later (Sciortino, 2010),
and updated here. The article is arranged in four main sections. In the first two sections, an
overview of SRH in the region and the related contraceptive gaps are
presented, while the third section deals with current efforts to provide
contraceptive services in various South-East Asian countries. The article
argues that existing needs are not yet fully met for reasons that are only
partly of a financial nature. In the final section of the article, a regional
advocacy agenda is proposed to enhance the delivery of contraceptive
services and commodities and realize contraceptive security in SouthEast
Asia.