JERSEY CITY, N.J.-- March 08, 2023 -- Organon (NYSE: OGN), a global healthcare company focused on improving women’s health, today announced the launch of a new global initiative, “Her Plan is Her Power,” to accelerate progress toward addressing the public health crisis of unplanned pregnancy. Annually, nearly 50% of pregnancies (approximately 121 million) around the world are estimated to be unplanned, leading to health risks and reduced educational and employment opportunities for mother and child - challenges which can span generations.

Unplanned pregnancies are in part caused by a lack of access to contraceptive information and services. Globally, of the 257 million women who want to avoid pregnancy, almost 67% are not using any contraceptive method. In response, Organon’s multi-year effort (2023-2025) builds on previous programming launched in 2022 through the “Her Promise” ESG platform. This new effort includes a portfolio of programs, collaborations and investments designed to fuel public health solutions, address inequities, and accelerate progress to help ensure women have the power to plan their future.

The $30 million “Her Plan is Her Power” initiative aims to address and overcome gaps and barriers to reduce unplanned pregnancies and empower women and girls when it comes to their sexual and reproductive health (SRH). It builds on existing company initiatives, with new funding to support:

· A planned three-pronged collaboration with UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, to help reduce unplanned pregnancies focused on innovation, access and education, and financing and sustainability. Initial projects are planned to support the Equalizer: UNFPA Accelerator Fund, through the establishment of an innovation challenge to empower young people by increasing access to financing and training to enable innovations for SRH information, services and commodities; enhancing a digital SRH knowledge solution with ethical artificial intelligence capabilities to give information and analytics to frontline healthcare workers in low-resource settings; and support for the Equity 2030 Alliance to accelerate actions to normalize gender equity in science and technology with a focus on SRH and women-focused solutions.
· Inaugural launch of a global grants program that provides resources to organizations working in communities to create a local response and empower people when it comes to reducing unplanned pregnancies and taking control of their reproductive health. The first cohort of grantees includes organizations across 13 countries including Dominican Republic, South Korea, Germany, and Thailand.
· New funding and product donations to help improve access and outcomes related to unplanned pregnancy in select communities in the US. Initial planned NGO partners include Direct Relief and Power to Decide, with additional US-based organizations and communities to be announced later this year.

“Empowering women with broad contraceptive access and education is a fundamental driver of equity and helping women decide when - and if - they decide to start a family,” said Kevin Ali, CEO of Organon. “Organon is proud to launch ‘Her Plan is Her Power’ and work with others to focus our resources and target responses to help ensure all women and girls can plan their future.”

This announcement comes on International Women’s Day and on the sidelines of the 67th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, to raise awareness and spur action, because in this complex environment, there has never been a more critical moment to stand - and act - with her.

“UNFPA is very excited to be working with Organon to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights and choices,” says Ian McFarlane, the Director of the Division for Communications and Strategic Partnerships at UNFPA. “The staggering number of unintended pregnancies that occur globally each year - nearly half of all pregnancies - require the power of public-private collaboration. We look forward to continuing to build upon our efforts to help improve the lives of women and girls around the world.”

Organon is working to ensure that all women and girls achieve the full potential of their promise through better health. In 2022, Organon made a commitment to help prevent 120 million unplanned pregnancies in the world’s least-developed countries by 2030 as part of FP2030. Through “Her Plan is Her Power” the company will further accelerate progress towards this goal by working with global and local organizations across geographies with a focus on innovation, education, access, and advocacy.