Safe Abortion

Overview

Every year, more than 25 million avoidable unsafe abortions occur. Legal restrictions and a lack of safe options mean that women and adolescent girls unnecessarily risk their health and lives every day. At PSI, we believe that everyone has a right to safe and legal abortion services, products and information, as well as post-abortion care and contraception.

How we
work

01
Asset 17

Consumer
Led

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02
Asset 26

Market Development

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03

Program
Design

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04
Asset 9

Social
Enterprise

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The Four Pillars of our Work in
Safe Abortion

01

We expand access to abortion-related services.

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02

We expand access to quality abortion products.

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03

We educate women about safe abortion and help reduce stigma surrounding it.

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04

We engage in policy dialogue and advocacy around safe abortion and post-abortion care.

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Our
Impact

In 2018, PSI’s safe abortion and post-abortion care programs achieved the following impact:

Active in more than

20

countries

Approximately

2 million

women reached

Over

150,000

medication abortion and manual vacuum aspiration services provided

An estimated

6,000

maternal deaths prevented

Where are PSI and Partners Adapting Safe Abortion Programs in response to COVID-19?

This map specifically highlights how six international organizations adapted their safe abortion and post-abortion care (PAC) programs to the evolving COVID-19 context. The map captures their stories of resilience, digital innovation, and persistent advocacy to maintain access to safe abortions and PAC during the pandemic. 

Visit our interactive ArcGIS COVID-19 StoryMap. 

COVID-19 Safe Abortion Response Map

Our Solutions

PSI helped catalyze the misoprostol market in Tanzania by launching and supporting its first widely available brand of misoprostol. After just a few years, the market went from having an inconsistent supply dominated by one player to having several players compete with high quality, affordably priced products. Now, with the urban market well served, we are pivoting to last mile distribution in rural areas.

PSI is innovating with technology to facilitate referrals and collect feedback to improve the client experience. PSI Cambodia developed a smartphone app that facilitates referrals between pharmacies and clinics for onward client care and post-abortion contraception. In other countries, PSI uses popular communication channels like WhatsApp to help shepherd eligible women through the health system for abortion and post-abortion care.  

In several regions, PSI social enterprises are improving medication abortion sustainability through regional sales operations that offer economies of scale and operate against a double-bottom line that measures health impact and cost recovery.

PSI engages with the public sector in many of the countries in which we work. For example, in Angola, we supported public sector providers in several hospitals to deliver treatment for more than 1,500 post-abortion care cases each month.

Featured Projects

Self-Care Trailblazers Group

Donor: Children’s Investment Fund Foundation; The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

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Women’s Health Project (WHP)

Donor: Anonymous

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Piloting an Accompaniment Model to Support Women During Medication Abortion

Donor: The David and Lucille Packard Foundation

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Innovative Models for Medication Abortion Marketing and Distribution

Donor: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

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Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health in Niger, Mali and Côte d’Ivoire

Donor: Global Affairs Canada

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Our
Experts

Andrea Fearneyhough

Director, Safe Abortion Programming PSI Global

Dr. Eva Lathrop

Global Medical Director PSI Global

James Ayers

Deputy Director, Safe Abortion Programming PSI

Dr. Milly Kaggwa

Senior Clinical Advisor for Africa PSI

Dr. Dorine Irankunda

Francophone/Lusophone Clinical Advisor, Women's Health Project PSI

Latest
Updates

Discover what's happening at PSI

Provider in office looking at documents and wearing a face mask

How did global health adapt Safe Abortion and Post-Abortion Care to COVID-19? This map tells all.

Innovating to Ensure Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights During the Pandemic By Dr. Eva Lathrop, Global Medical Director, PSI and Lola Flomen,

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Provider handing consumer a condom

How to Reduce Unplanned Pregnancies? Ask Consumers.

In January 2021, panelists from PSI Vietnam, Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), YLabs, and Pathfinder International Pakistan explored how human-centered design can deliver solutions for reducing unplanned pregnancies. From Vietnam

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Post-Abortion Care Training… on Zoom

By Dr. Suleiman Alhaji Usman, Clinical Services Manager, PSI Nigeria and Jamee Kuznicki, Senior Associate Project Manager, PSI  In 2012 (most recent data), 212,000 women in Nigeria received medical treatment for complications related

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A Safe Abortion in Her Hands

by Maria Dieter, Associate Content Manager, PSI @MariaDeets Ritika Yadav* sat facing her husband, Pradip. They were mid- conversation, speaking quietly as they sat in

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Learn Where Self Care and Healthcare Intersect

by Sandy Garcon, Senior Manager, Advocacy & Communications, PSI On April 2nd, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and BMJ Global Health launched a series of articles focused on self

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A Call to Action in the Age of #MeToo

By Dázon Dixon Diallo, DHL, MPH, Founder and CEO, SisterLove Inc. In 2006, human rights activist Tarana Burke launched the me too Movement ™ through

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Stay
Updated

Our mission is powered by people like you joining our community.

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Your Investment,
Real Impact

92%

Program Expenses

8%

Management, General, Fundraising Expenses

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$38.96

is all it takes to give a healthy mother and her child a year of healthy life.

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