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.
In 2018, PSI’s safe abortion and post-abortion care programs achieved the following impact:
20
countries
2 million
women reached
150,000
medication abortion and manual vacuum aspiration services provided
6,000
maternal deaths prevented
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.
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.
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Program Expenses
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PSI supports the public sector and our own private provider networks to deliver comprehensive abortion, post-abortion care and contraception services. We use values clarification combined with healthcare ethics as a foundation from which to train providers on clinical procedures and counseling methods, including how to deliver gender-sensitive and youth-friendly services.
PSI provides comprehensive abortion and post-abortion care services in nearly 20 countries throughout the world. Services always include contraceptive counseling and, when voluntarily chosen by the client, the provision of short or long-acting contraception.
We strengthen access to medication abortion through direct product distribution and market facilitation. We bring our own brands into pharmaceutical markets or help expand access to quality brands of other nonprofit organizations and manufacturers. We complement distribution with training and medical detailing for clinicians and pharmacists.
PSI has launched misoprostol and mifepristone-misoprostol combination-pack brands in nearly 20 countries and supported already existing commercial brands in more than 15 countries. Where needed, PSI works to fill unmet needs by directly serving especially vulnerable groups like refugees or commercial sex workers.
We disseminate information directly to women about legal and safe abortion options, post-abortion care, contraceptive methods and when and where to seek follow-up care. We use multiple media channels, creative technology solutions (like smartphone apps, chatbots and hotlines) and interpersonal communication to educate, connect and combat stigma.
In India, PSI added an augmented reality feature to its medication abortion brand packaging to improve the quality of instructions, decrease potential product misuse and reduce uncertainty. Women can point their smartphone cameras at the medication abortion packaging and an animated video will appear, explaining how to take the medication. Women without smartphones have the option to call a toll-free number to hear instructions.
PSI works through coalitions with local stakeholders to improve the enabling environment for safe abortion and post-abortion care.
PSI helped lead the effort to create Nigeria’s first national guidelines for abortion provision. These guidelines dramatically increased access to services, as previously many providers refused to perform abortion due to uncertainty around legality and the health conditions covered by the country’s single indication to save the life of the woman.
In other countries, PSI has contributed its technical expertise to update national post-abortion care guidelines, registered misoprostol for abortion and post-abortion care-related indications and used harm reduction approaches to soften the ground for expanded access.
With overarching commitments to flexibility in our work, and greater wellbeing for our employees, we want to ensure PSI is positioned for success with a global and holistic view of talent. Under our new “work from (almost) anywhere,” or “WFAA” philosophy, we are making the necessary investments to be an employer of record in more than half of U.S. states, and consider the U.S. as one single labor market for salary purposes. Globally, we recognize the need to compete for talent everywhere; we maintain a talent center in Nairobi and a mini-hub in Abidjan. PSI also already works with our Dutch-based European partner, PSI Europe, and we’re creating a virtual talent center in the UK.
PSI is firmly committed to the meaningful engagement of young people in our work. As signatories of the Global Consensus Statement on Meaningful Adolescent & Youth Engagement, PSI affirms that young people have a fundamental right to actively and meaningfully engage in all matters that affect their lives. PSI’s commitments aim to serve and partner with diverse young people from 10-24 years, and we have prioritized ethics and integrity in our approach. Read more about our commitments to the three core principles of respect, justice and Do No Harm in the Commitment to Ethics in Youth-Powered Design. And read more about how we are bringing our words to action in our ICPD+25 commitment, Elevating Youth Voices, Building Youth Skills for Health Design.
PSI works to ensure that its operations and supply chains are free from slavery and human trafficking. Read more about this commitment in our policy statement, endorsed by the PSI Board of Directors.
Since 2017, PSI has been a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, a commitment to align strategies and operations with universal principles of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Read about PSI’s commitment to the UN Global Compact here.
The health of PSI’s consumers is inextricably linked to the health of our planet. That’s why we’ve joined the Climate Accountability in Development as part of our commitment to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030. Read about our commitment to environmental sustainability.
PSI does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, disability, protected veteran status or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state or local law. Read our full affirmative action and equal employment opportunity policy here.
PSI is committed to establishing and maintaining a work environment that fosters harmonious, productive working relationships and encourages mutual respect among team members. Read our policy against discrimination and harassment here.
PSI is committed to serving all health consumers with respect, and strives for the highest standards of ethical behavior. PSI is dedicated to complying with the letter and spirit of all laws, regulations and contractual obligations to which it is subject, and to ensuring that all funds with which it is entrusted are used to achieve maximum impact on its programs. PSI provides exceptionally strong financial, operational and program management systems to ensure rigorous internal controls are in place to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse and ensure compliance with the highest standards. Essential to this commitment is protecting the safety and well-being of our program consumers, including the most vulnerable, such as women and children. PSI maintains zero tolerance for child abuse, sexual abuse, or exploitative acts or threats by our employees, consultants, volunteers or anyone associated with the delivery of our programs and services, and takes seriously all complaints of misconduct brought to our attention.
PSI affirms its commitment to diversity and believes that when people feel respected and included they can be more honest, collaborative and successful. We believe that everyone deserves respect and equal treatment regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, cultural background or religious beliefs. Read our commitment to diversity and inclusion here. Plus, we’ve signed the CREED Pledge for Racial and Ethnic Equity. Learn more.
PSI affirms gender equality is a universal human right and the achievement of it is essential to PSI’s mission. Read about our commitment to gender equality here.
From ministries of health to regulatory bodies and purchasers, we partner with private and public sector players to provide seamless health services to consumers – no matter their entry point to care.
Across 40+ countries, we scale digital solutions that make it easier for people to take ownership of their own health, and health systems to use resources efficiently and increase health impact.
We support health systems in shaping the policy and regulatory environment for self-care interventions and ensuring self-care is included as an essential part of healthcare services.
