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2017 Impact Report
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Women–no matter where they live– dream of healthy lives for themselves and their families. At PSI, we believe the path to health and prosperity for all can be achieved in our lifetime only by breaking the traditional development model. We develop and test breakthrough concepts that have the potential to go to scale and make it easier for people in the developing world to lead healthier lives. We also have an uncompromising focus on measurable impact.
Here is what your support has helped us achieve in one year alone.
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Your Health Impact The Scale of Your Financial Support
LIVES CHANGED (ESTIMATED)
PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTED
4.87 million unintended pregnancies prevented.
25 million long-lasting insecticide-treated nets, protecting families from malaria.
11,600 maternal deaths prevented.
800 million male and female condoms, preventing transmission of HIV and other STIs and empowering women and couples to plan for the families they desire.
135,000 deaths due to malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia prevented. 253,000 HIV infections prevented. SERVICES PROVIDED 1,373,000 long-acting, reversible contraceptives inserted (including implants and intrauterine devices), helping women and couples to plan for the families they desire. 423,000 voluntary adult medical male circumcisions performed, preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 2,335,000 voluntary testing and counseling sessions for HIV and other STIs conducted, reducing transmission rates and increasing access to treatment through referrals.
1.7 million diarrhea treatment kits, saving children’s lives by reducing the severity and duration of diarrheal disease. 9 million kits of malaria rapid diagnosis, confirming suspected cases of malaria. 692,000 pre-packaged antibiotics, saving lives by treating pneumonia. 15 million courses of artemisinin–based combination therapy, saving lives by treating malaria. 10 billion liters of water treated with water treatment products.
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What Makes PSI So Different?
Population Services International is reimagining what healthcare looks like. We innovate in an interconnected world that is constantly changing. That means we must rapidly test interventions and programs and optimize them based on their results. We marry cutting edge product development and marketing to solve the world’s most persistent health problems. We develop solutions that engage the people we serve and are designed to last when we’re gone. We are experts at implementing on a grand scale and are known as an organization that gets things done in difficult places. But, traditional public funding is tightening and always comes with restrictive strings attached. Government money won’t allow PSI to take risks that will get the “quantum leap” results required. That’s why we depend on supporters like you.
ONLY PSI HAS A global network structure of more than 50+ member organizations. A 45-year track record of developing cutting-edge health solutions. The ability to take proven health interventions to scale.
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Moving to Plan B By Margaret Cohen
Shrifa had a solid plan. But a year and a half earlier, the ground fell out from under her feet.
she could earn some money on her own and be able to support herself in the future.”
When I meet her in late September, the 45-yearold welcomes us into her home in the crowded Ugwenu district of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with a big smile and warm handshake. “Sister Margaret” she calls me after I introduce myself. Her favorite telenovela is playing on the small television in the main area of her three-room cement house. She switches it off as she invites me to sit down on a comfortable padded chair with sturdy wooden arms.
And although family planning is a subject that many Tanzanian parents avoid discussing, Shrifa learned a lot from the women she met selling tea on her doorstep. Like the fact her country has one of the highest adolescent pregnancy and teen birth rates in the world.
Widowed four years ago with two children to care for, Shrifa tells me how she went into business setting up a small table in front of her home in the mornings where she sells chai tea and samosas. The narrow network of dirt paths in her area sees a lot of foot traffic. She earns enough to feed her family, and expected her daughter and son would continue their studies, pass the required tests and go to university. “I had dreams for them.” Even when her 16-year-old daughter Shamsa failed her exams and couldn’t continue her studies, “I signed her up for a knitting course so
As part of her regular rounds for a local PSI affiliated health clinic, Sarah Paul, a community health worker, knocked on Shrifa’s door one day. Over tea, the women talked about their families, and Shrifa shared her concerns for her daughter. Sarah mentioned a program offered at her clinic where Shamsa could talk to a nurse and learn about the changes her body was going through. She would also get the right information to avoid becoming pregnant. Shrifa was convinced it was a good idea. So, she was very clear with her daughter. Having babies would derail her plans for Shamsa to be independent, she told her. She wanted her to go to the clinic. “I know how girls are. Boys cannot be trusted. I talked to her and told her ‘These days there are all
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these diseases. Boys will lie to you.’” “Stay away from boys and sex. Don’t let them trick you and buy you chips,” she said, referring to widespread gender inequalities that can give men considerable relational power over young women. For girls like Shamsa who live in poverty, receiving material rewards from casual partners and main boyfriends is common. Shamsa told her mother not to worry. She never missed a knitting class. Instead, she started falling asleep in them. When the instructor told Shrifa, the mother thought back to how she had been observing Shamsa putting on weight. She immediately confronted her daughter. “I told her she was pregnant, and she insisted ‘No.’” “But then I found her throwing up one morning and said ‘Remember what I told you!’” Shrifa’s voice catching as she recounts what happened. After talking animatedly with me for an hour, Shrifa becomes silent. She turns her head to the side as
her eyes slowly fill with tears. She starts to speak, stops and is silent for a few minutes. “When I was struggling to take care of her and her brother, Shamsa did something to add onto the problems that we already had,” she says quietly, dabbing her eyes. Shrifa immediately took her to the clinic to get a pregnancy test, confirming her fears that Shamsa was three months pregnant. Shrifa, who these days is rewarded with frequent smiles from the beautiful 5-month-old grandbaby she helps care for with love, still has dreams for her daughter. She continues to believe that education is the key for her to have a better future. Knowing that her daughter’s poor test scores have ruled out university, she’s enrolled her at VETTA, a wellrespected vocational training school in Dar es Salaam. They teach plumbing, electricity, “life skills,” Shrifa explains. Shamsa has decided to become a hairdresser.
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“I think that is a good choice for her,” Shrifa explains, “because it is her idea and her decision.” Shamsa already does her friends’ hair for fun, so Shrifa’s hopeful she’ll stick with it. And she won’t have to worry about another pregnancy to derail those plans. After she gave birth, Shrifa asked Sarah to talk with her daughter again. This time Shamsa was ready to learn more. Sarah told her about an event for adolescent girls they were holding that Saturday at the nearby clinic and handed her an invitation. “At first, I was scared,” Shamsa added when I spoke with her later about the event at the clinic. “I was afraid because I made a mistake and didn’t know what they would say to me.” After she learned about her options, Shamsa chose an IUD that would protect her from pregnancy for 12 years. She picked it because it
will give her plenty of time to establish a clientele and eventually open her own shop. When she is ready to support them, she plans to have more children. Shrifa says she wishes things had been different. That Shamsa had listened to her the first time she told her to go to the clinic and learn about family planning. “My daughter made a mistake. But I still want her to know she can have a better life.” “I told her, ‘I haven’t given up on you.’”
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