Cycle Technologies Joins FP2020, Pledges Contraceptive Solutions to Over 10 Million Women At No Cost
London, UK (PRWEB) July 11, 2017 -- Cycle Technologies pledged to provide free family planning solutions to 10 million women by 2020 during the Family Planning Summit in London today. The pledge officially commits Cycle Technologies to Family Planning 2020 (FP2020), a global partnership that supports the right of women and girls to decide if and when they will have children. Cycle Technologies’ solutions will help address women’s unmet contraceptive needs and reduce unplanned pregnancies.
Globally, 214 million women have an “unmet need for contraception” according to the Guttmacher Institute. This means that they are at risk for pregnancy but not using effective birth control. The result is over 85 million unplanned pregnancies per year worldwide. Access to birth control remains a challenge due to contraceptive side effects, supply issues, costs, and cultural barriers.
“Unplanned pregnancies are a preventable source of poverty and suffering for women, children, and families,” said Leslie Heyer, President and Founder of Cycle Technologies. “We are dedicated to providing women with solutions that will meet their needs for accessible, effective contraception. And we are thrilled to join with global leaders in making this commitment to FP2020.”
Cycle Technologies develops contraceptive options based on fertility awareness. Its products include three apps – Dot™, CycleBeads®, and 2Day™ Method – and a physical CycleBeads product, which is available in 60 countries. Dot, the newest solution, empowers women to plan or prevent pregnancy simply by tracking their period start dates. The app uses a patent-pending technology called Dynamic Optimal Timing™ (DOT) to predict a woman’s day-by-day chance of pregnancy. To date, these technologies have helped meet the contraceptive needs of over 6 million women worldwide.
Under its FP2020 commitment, Cycle Technologies pledged to do the following by 2020:
- Distribute free app-based contraceptive solutions to at least 8 million women.
- Complete a comprehensive efficacy study on the Dot fertility app in conjunction with researchers at Georgetown University’s Institute for Reproductive Health.
- Measure how well app-based options address unmet contraceptive need in an impact study.
- Distribute 2 million sets of CycleBeads to women in low-resource settings.
Fertility-awareness options are well suited to meet unmet contraceptive need because they do not cause side effects, the most common reason women cite for not using birth control. Evidence shows that fertility awareness methods can be used in a wide range of contexts and often bring new users to family planning. They can also be offered through mobile apps, which circumvent the challenges of physical distribution in remote or dangerous areas.
"Family planning is a human right,” said Heyer, “and mobile contraceptive solutions can make that right a reality for millions of women."
About Cycle Technologies
Cycle Technologies is a social impact company focused on women’s health. The company’s mission is to prevent unplanned pregnancies and help people have the families that they want when they are ready. Founded in 2002, Cycle Technologies’ evidence-based products are available in over 60 countries and apps are available to anyone in the world with a smartphone. These technologies have been incorporated into the World Health Organization’s modern contraceptives list, and other national and international medical guidelines. Research on these methods has been conducted by third party researchers with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Learn more at http://www.CycleTechnologies.com
Alev Sezer-Jacobs, Cycle Technologies, http://www.CycleTechnologies.com, +1 202.607.1233, [email protected]
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