The background

Population Services International (PSI) is a network of locally rooted, globally connected organizations working to achieve consumer-powered healthcare — people-centered health systems that ensure quality, affordable care wherever and whenever it is needed. As part of its strategy, PSI is committed to expanding access to safe and legal abortion, post-abortion care, and contraceptive products, services, and information.

The approach

Afton Bloom worked with PSI to refine the organization's safe abortion strategy. Our work focused on exploring the unique role and value add of a globally-networked organization in the abortion space relative to national or local service delivery, advocacy, and public sector strengthening. Given dramatic shifts anticipated in international abortion funding and the evolving complexity and diversity of the abortion context across regions, we took a highly participatory approach, bringing-in perspectives from across PSI teams and regions and holding "learning exchanges" with other global organizations and donors to share our research findings and gather input for the strategy.
   

The result

Through this process, PSI honed its role and strategy for safe abortion. The strategy centered a vision of "every person having voice, choice, and agency over their sexual and reproductive health including abortion" and defining three strategic priorities towards this vision including sustainable models for medication abortion access and self-managed care, the capacity of public and private health systems to deliver abortion and post-abortion care, and addressing social and cultural barriers in the broader environment.