Under this five-year Cooperative Agreement Meridian’s role was to expand the involvement and investment of the private sector in family planning and reproductive health activities.  Meridian concluded marketing agreements with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Schering/Berlin, negotiating their support and funds for the dissemination of Birth-Spacing data.  Meridian also negotiated an agreement with Organon for them to support local FP/RH programs through a combination of donations and technical assistance.  Meridian concluded a regional agreement with Celsam (Schering Latin America) to support a FP public relations campaign.  In regard to expanding method mix to include emergency contraceptives, Meridian negotiated a partnership with HRAPharma, IPPF/WHR and Profamilia/Dominican Republic.

In addition to these PPPs, Meridian significantly expanded the current range of activities related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).  One of the important tools that was published is the Catalyst Consortium CSR Toolkit, developed by Meridian staff and based on the Meridian’s “Seven Principles for Corporate Social Responsibility Partnerships” and Meridian’s “The Seven Steps to Partnering”.  In addition to the producing the Toolkit, Meridian conducted CSR workshops in Colombia and Guatemala as well as implementing projects with Peru 2021 (the Peruvian CSR Association).  The value of these private sector contributions was over $328,000.

Partners in the CATALYST Consortium included Pathfinder (managing partner), the Academy for Educational Development (AED), the Center for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) and PROFAMILIA Colombia.