Population Services International

Utkrisht stands as the inaugural health Development Impact Bond globally, utilizing private investor funding to implement quality enhancement interventions that target the reduction of maternal and newborn mortality in Rajasthan, India. This initiative is providing support to forty-four private sector facilities by implementing quality improvement interventions, thus elevating their level of care.

The "After the Flush" project collaborates with the government to reduce unsafe disposal of faecal sludge. This initiative organizes the private sector, establishes effective monitoring mechanisms, and raises awareness about the risks associated with unsafe faecal sludge disposal. The goal is to offer consumers better-quality services at affordable prices while also empowering the government to establish and enforce regulations. Through this model, private sectors can operate profitably without exploitation. PSI India's focus is on fortifying the sanitation value chain, ensuring proper collection, safe transportation, and responsible disposal of faecal waste.

Expanding on the achievements of the Supporting Sustainable Sanitation Improvements (3SI) initiative in Bihar, PSI India secured co-funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Grand Challenges Canada in 2018. This additional support has enabled the program to further bolster the sanitation market by strengthening the marketing and managerial capabilities of sanitation enterprises. The aim is to ensure a sustainable supply of toilets within the established sanitation market developed under the 3SI project.

Supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ignite ignites transformation across various tiers of the healthcare sector, aiming to enhance young people's accessibility to contraception, post-abortion care, and legal safe abortion services in Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, India, Kenya, and Mozambique.

The Expanding Effective Contraceptive Options (EECO) initiative, spearheaded by WCG Cares in collaboration with PSI, aims to facilitate the introduction of innovative contraceptive methods. These methods aim to overcome barriers related to non-use and cater more effectively to the reproductive health requirements of women and girls. EECO operates in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, introducing promising contraceptive options through pilot studies. Drawing insights from these trials, EECO develops strategies for the introduction and promotion of product lines that address gaps in the contraception market.

Amid the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, Family Planning emerges as a pivotal investment for nations to attain gender equality and foster health and prosperity. Access to voluntary family planning serves as a comprehensive measure in mitigating poverty, decreasing maternal and neonatal mortality rates, and delivering substantial economic advantages to families and urban areas.
PSI India stands at the forefront of supporting the government's efforts through The Challenge Initiative India (TCI India) and the FP program, sponsored by CARE. Their relentless endeavours aim to alleviate the burden of maternal mortality by actively enhancing the adoption of a voluntary range of family planning methods.

PSI India establishes a cadre of "master coaches" within the city's system by fostering collaborative coaching and mentoring support with the government.

PSI India is dedicated to placing the well-being of mothers, children, and adolescents at the forefront of our maternal and child health (MCH) and Adolescent Youth Sexual Reproductive Health (AYSRH) efforts, working collaboratively with families, communities, and health systems.
The Challenge Initiative India (TCI India) stands as an exemplary contributor, having trained 6,679 ASHAs. These ASHAs reached over a million women with family planning and maternal and newborn health (MNH) services across urban slums in 36 cities spanning Uttar Pradesh (UP), Madhya Pradesh (MP), and Odisha.
TCI India’s initiative extended its impact by supporting 15 cities in scaling up AYSRH interventions, establishing adolescent-friendly health services (AFHS) across 334 UPHCs. This effort facilitated outreach to more than 34,647 boys and girls through 2495 Community Adolescent Health Days (AHD) conducted to date.

PSI India initiated the Supporting Sustainable Sanitation Improvements (3SI) project in Bihar to assess the demand for household toilets in rural areas. This groundwork steered the project's second phase, which concentrated on establishing and utilizing connections between sanitation enterprises and various value chain stakeholders. This strategic focus aimed to spur demand and boost toilet sales. The outcome was impressive, with 137,970 households mobilized to purchase toilets from 234 project-linked Sanitation Enterprises (SE). This was facilitated by 21,000 consumer loans provided by MFIs through Sanitation Credit Financing services.
Furthermore, PSI India established 24 sewage treatment plants/sewage pumping stations as part of the After the Flush (ATF) project in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Madhya Pradesh (MP). This infrastructure was intended to safely manage and dispose of 1.2 million litters of faecal sludge, contributing significantly to sanitation management in these regions.

PSI India has implemented a variety of forward-thinking interventions that transcend the traditional scope of Public-Private collaboration. Notably, the organization has supported the Government of India's National Strategic Plan for Elimination of Tuberculosis (NSP 2017-25) and Project Axshya. Spanning across 10 states and benefitting over seven million people, these initiatives represent innovative and practical solutions in the healthcare services for Tuberculosis.
PSI India’s ethos is rooted in an inclusive and stigma-free approach to addressing Tuberculosis. Their commitment lies in valuing the insights and perspectives of individuals and communities affected by TB, as well as other stakeholders and partners. To prioritize community engagement, they have introduced Axshya Samvad—an initiative where trained community volunteers engage in dialogues with communities. This approach aims to develop and implement people-centered strategies towards TB elimination.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted immense pressure on India's healthcare infrastructure. To mount a rapid and effective response, PSI India collaborated with Unilever and the UK government to create a public-private coalition called the Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition (HBCC). This coalition aimed to extend hygiene products, infrastructure, and education to one billion individuals within a specific timeframe.
Implemented in two cities, Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, this time-sensitive initiative was launched in October 2020 and December 2020, respectively, in the chosen urban areas.

The Samagra project strives to establish an accessible and affordable urban health system in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, focusing on marginalized communities, women, girls, and the urban poor to enhance the quality of primary healthcare. This initiative aims to address barriers related to health determinants and improve access to cost-effective healthcare services. Its key objectives include increasing the uptake of modern contraceptives, enhancing tuberculosis (TB) and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) detection, improving maternal and child health services encompassing antenatal, intranatal, and postnatal care, and elevating immunization rates.

Project Uday, an operational research initiative, operated in Sonipat (Haryana) and Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), encompasses culturally diverse regions. PSI India conducted qualitative research aiming to comprehend the perceived risks and susceptibility to conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and associated symptoms among the general population. Additionally, the study aimed to identify the challenges and opportunities concerning healthcare service utilization, particularly among individuals already diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure. Following these findings and in collaboration with government officials and project partners, a mass media campaign was formulated, subsequently adopted by the government.

Sankalp focused on preventing cervical cancer in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.). In this project, PSI India collaborated with private obstetricians and gynaecologists across 10 districts in UP to offer screening and treatment services at reduced costs for women from low-income backgrounds. To extend its reach to more urban underprivileged women, the programme was expanded within the public sector through a public-private partnership.

PSI India provided technical support to the National Health Mission (NHM) and State Innovations in Family Planning Services (SIFPSA) in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to initiate a dedicated Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) program for women called 'Sampoorna'. This program offered early detection and management services for cervical cancer, along with five other non-communicable diseases: anaemia, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases through screen and treat services. To facilitate this, 'Sampoorna Clinics' were established in district women's hospitals and community health centres across 28 districts in UP. Additionally, PSI India developed a mass media campaign for cervical cancer screening, which was adopted by the UP government.