Essential contraceptives: public movement and technical advocacy.

©FSRH J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 2008: 34(4) Summary User choice is central to contraceptive practice, as opposed to therapeutic care where the view of the prescriber tends to prevail. Provider organisations have to make difficult decisions in selecting the methods of contraception that are offered, particularly with the multitude of new products and the controversies that have surrounded the value of some of them. The World Health Organization (WHO) Model List of Essential Medicines is a valuable tool in strengthening the provision of contraceptive commodities as part of international development efforts.