Washington, DC -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/12/2014 -- Cycle Technologies released an infographic as part of its Solutions for Unmet Needs in Family Planning initiative detailing the three steps that will help ensure access to quality, family planning options. The infographic highlights the need for a woman-centric approach in the development of new reproductive health commodities and services.
Recently there has been significant interest in family planning from leading donor organizations, governments and development agencies, as the impact of investing in family planning has been better understood and major global health and aid organizations have focused on the issue.
As an example, earlier this year, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, signed a memorandum of understanding to improve access to family planning information, services and contraceptives to people in developing counties. The agreement is in support of the global goal of expanding family planning access of high-quality services and supplies for 120 million women and girls in the world’s 69 poorest countries by 2020.
According to Leslie Heyer, President of Cycle Technologies, “Partnerships and commitments like this are critical to helping women and girls have access to information, supplies, and services. And it’s not just about giving them access to current services. It’s about figuring out what solutions they need to fit their unique circumstances whether those are barrier, hormonal, or fertility awareness options.”
As outlined in Cycle Technologies’ family planning infographic:
- 80 million unplanned pregnancies occur worldwide with 95% of these to women who are not using contraception or using it inconsistently
- 65 million unplanned pregnancies occur in the developing world each year
The CDC earlier this year issued new guidelines for “Offering Family Planning Services”. They recommend a “client-centered approach” and defined this as “care that is respectful of, and responsive to, client preferences, needs and values.”
Evidence also shows that creating options is important for meeting unmet need because it enables women to find the best choice for them, makes it less likely that a woman will discontinue use, and increases contraceptive use in communities where choices are available.
“Creating family planning options is a challenging process. It requires a lot of investment to make them available, and even more to make them sustainable. But the potential impact from providing more options to women is enormous, and the benefit makes it worthwhile,” says Heyer.
About Cycle Technologies
Cycle Technologies is a socially minded consumer products company that creates Brilliantly Simple™ tools to help solve complex global problems. Since 2002 the company has worked with researchers, healthcare partners, and investors to seek leading edge ideas that fit its mission. Under the Solutions for Unmet Need in Family Planning Program (SUN-FP), the company has worked with the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University to create tools that help meet the needs of women in a range of contexts. These tools include the 2Day app as well as CycleBeads®, CycleBeads® Online and iCycleBeads™ smartphone apps – tools based on a calendar-based natural family planning method. To date more than 3 million women in 60+ countries have used CycleBeads to plan or prevent pregnancy resulting in an estimated 4.5 million unplanned pregnancies prevented and 750,000 pregnancies successfully planned.
For more information, please visit http://www.cyclebeads.com/