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H E A LT H C A R EImproving Reproductive Health for WomenWomanCare Global puts its health products in the hands of the poorBy Manny CruzFrom an office inCardiff by theSea, the smallbeach community between Solana Beachand Carlsbad, Saundra Pelletier and herWomanCare Global network have influencedthe health of millions of women inmore than 100 countries of the world overthe past three years.Pelletier calls them “invisible women” becausethey are poor and have not previouslyhad access to the contraception and reproductive-healthproducts that WomanCareGlobal makes available to them. Theblonde, 42-year-oldfounded the nonprofit organization in2009 — and serves as its CEO — out of alifelong dream to help women who are desperatelyin need of health care.“Growing up in Caribou, Maine, Ilearned very early that education and accessto health care are incredibly essential for allwomen to lead successful and fulfillinglives,” says Pelletier. “I’m passionate aboutproviding health care products to individualsaround the world as well as those in theUnited States and deserve access to ahealthier existence.”WomanCare Global contracts with severalpharmaceutical manufacturers who provideit with a portfolio of nine productsdealing with contraception, fertility andpregnancy management. The products aresold to clinics around the world and madeavailable to women at a lower price thanthey could get them from the pharmaceuticalgiants.“The products come from nine differentSaundra Pelletiermanufacturers, some are made in the UnitedStates and some are made in China, Indiaand Taiwan,” says Pelletier. “We go andmake sure their manufacturing processesmeet U.S. standards of quality and then distributethe products in the countries.”The quality of the products is very importantto Pelletier, aside from the fact thatthey are affordable to the women who needthem. “We see too many counterfeit andknockoffs and women having so many sideaffects from them that they cannot continueto take them,” she says. “We make themavailable to women all over the world at aprice they can afford.”Although WomanCare Global distributesits products in more than 100 countries,the majority of its focus and resources arespent in the developing markets of SouthAfrica, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia,India and Pakistan, and in the UnitedStates, UK, Mexico City, Brazil and Turkey.Since its founding in 2009, WomanCareGlobal has reached 15 million women withits products, or about 5 million a year, accordingto Pelletier. She says the organizationis financed by product sales, which nextyear will amount to $5 million as part of an$11.5 million budget, and from contributionsfrom other sources. Last year it receiveda donation of $3.5 million from Ipas,a nonprofit group that works to improvewomen’s access to safe and quality abortioncare and reproductive health services.Currently, the organization employs 42full-time employees and has 25 consultantswho work on a part-time basis.Pelletier expects that after five years ofoperation, WomanCare Global will becomeself-sustaining, able to generate enough revenuethat it will not be dependent on donations.The organization’s biggest challenge,she says, isidentifying enough donor support duringthat time period to accomplish that goal.But there are other challenges, such as attractingbusiness people to the organization— “people who care about the mission,” shesays — and competition from big pharmaceuticalcompanies. “We needed to have aportfolio of products to create a better packageso we can compete with the big pharmaceuticalcompanies,” says Pelletier. “It’s toget leverage.”WomanCare Global ProductsContraception:• Essure — permanent contraception• Optinor — emergency contraception• Roselle — oral contraceptive• Simplant — long-acting contraceptive implantFertility:• Endometrial BiopsyPregnancy Management:• Aspirators• Cannula• Accessories2 7 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y 1 9 8 5 - 2 0 1 2 | J U LY 2 0 1 2 | S A N D I E G O M E T R O . C O M3 3