since the 1970s, the international community has worked on providing access to the supplies and equipment needed to deliver quality reproductive health services in the developing world. in the early years, that engagement was largely financial and technical, focused in particular on effective supply chain management. by the late 1990s waning interest within the international donor community coupled with weak commitment by countries prompted many to see sustained access to reproductive health supplies as depending as much on effective advocacy as on purely technical support. alarmed at the prospect of significant funding shortfalls, stakeholders from around the world met in 2001 in istanbul at a conference entitled "meeting the challenge". this conference was the starting point for a coordinated global reproductive health supplies movement. in 2003 the supply initiative was established as a coordinating mechanism. in 2004 12 organizations, mostly donors from the public and non-governmental sectors, established the reproductive health supplies coalition. their aim was to foster better coordination and collaboration in such areas as global advocacy, resource mobilization, and supply chain strengthening. by the end of 2011 the reproductive health supplies coalition included 155 member organizations, among them developing country governments, international and national non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, technical agencies, bilateral donors, multilateral organizations, private foundations, regional bodies, and manufacturers. in 2011, 360 participants from 56 countries gathered in addis ababa, ethiopia to mark the 10th anniversary of meeting the challenge and raise the international profile of reproductive health commodity security.