Increasing Quality Supply, Multiplying Impact
Peter Essen was first introduced to his future career while studying chemistry at university.
As a student, he always knew he would end up in the medical field, perhaps even as a doctor. But those plans changed when he discovered pharmaceuticals. He saw the possibilities they offered as a way to provide innovative, quality care on a scale much larger than he could ever provide as a physician.
It was the 1970s — an exciting time for reproductive health medicines.
Researchers working with polymer-based products could see that they would revolutionize the contraceptive market offering women an entirely new way of accessing family planning, especially in the developing world. Implants offered women an alternative to the daily pill. And they enabled women to make family planning decisions privately and discreetly — offering them, in effect, a new era of freedom.
Thirty-plus years later, in his current role as head of Supply Center Turku and vice managing director of Bayer Oy, Peter has never stopped thinking about the women who rely on medicines and supplies produced at his facility. He makes it his personal responsibility to make certain those products are safe and effective — whether it’s for women in rural Mozambique or those closer to home in Finland.
Peter applauds the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition for its commitment to making safe and effective products not just a dream, but a reality.
Good sexual and reproductive health depends on ensuring the quality of the RH supplies bought and distributed, and equally important, unequivocal confidence in the quality of these supplies.
The Coalition’s contributions to contraceptive commodity and reproductive health supply security are founded within a solid base of four strategic pillars — Quality, Equity, Choice and Availability. This series of profiles and interviews aims to celebrate Coalition members and partners who actually do the work in supporting our issues.