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Phil Harvey
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Phil Harvey
Phil Harvey (April 25, 1938 – December 2, 2021) was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist and libertarian who set up large-scale programs that delivered subsidized contraceptives in poor countries. Harvey was the founder and former president of DKT International, the Washington, D.C.–based charity that implements family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention programs in 57 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. He was the chief sponsor of the DKT Liberty Project which raised awareness about freedom of speech issues in the U.S. Harvey was also the president of Adam & Eve, the North Carolina–based company that sells sex toys, adult films and condoms. Consequently, he has been called "one of the most influential figures in the American sex industry today".
Harvey used profits from Adam & Eve to supplement support from international donors to protect millions of poor couples from unwanted pregnancies and HIV infections. In 2019, DKT International provided contraceptive protection to 49 million couples.
Harvey was born in Evanston, Illinois, to William Dow Harvey and Lucy Smith Harvey as the youngest of five siblings on April 25, 1938. He attended Harvard College from 1957 and received his bachelor's degree in 1961 in Slavic languages and literature. Between 1960 and 1962, he served in the army and was based at Ft. Meade, Maryland. He then joined the international charity CARE in 1963 to work in India. His five years' work with CARE on large-scale feeding programs for rapidly growing numbers of Indian children convinced Harvey of the importance of family planning and planted the first seeds in his mind of starting an initiative that could address the issue on a global scale.
He returned to the U.S. in 1969 and enrolled in the University of North Carolina's master's degree program in family planning administration. One of his classmates was the late Dr. Tim Black, a British physician (who went on to found Marie Stopes International, a large British charity also focused on family planning services). Harvey and Black founded Population Services International in 1970 which today works in almost 70 countries with an annual budget of $684 million (2013). Harvey served as executive director of PSI from 1970 to 1977 and remained on the PSI Board until 2003.
Harvey co-founded Adam & Eve in 1972 and continued as its president until his death. He also founded DKT International in 1989 and stepped down as its president and chief executive on December 31, 2013.
He served as executive producer on the 2015 documentary about censorship in comedy, Can We Take a Joke?, and the 2020 free speech documentary about former ACLU Executive Director Ira Glasser, Mighty Ira.
Harvey died from natural causes in Bethesda, Maryland, on December 2, 2021, at the age of 83.
Harvey's operational philosophy was unique[citation needed]: it combined altruism with strong business models. Adam & Eve was, and continues to be, one of the largest sex product companies in the world. Harvey's share of profits from it supported DKT International which sells low-priced contraceptives by using business channels that are found in every corner of the world, including in low-resource settings. Special projects, such as those with the military in Ethiopia (which obliges all soldiers to carry condoms when they leave the base), or with local medical practitioners in India who make a small profit selling condoms and pills, extend and supplement this approach and ensure the products are widely available.
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Phil Harvey
Phil Harvey (April 25, 1938 – December 2, 2021) was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist and libertarian who set up large-scale programs that delivered subsidized contraceptives in poor countries. Harvey was the founder and former president of DKT International, the Washington, D.C.–based charity that implements family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention programs in 57 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. He was the chief sponsor of the DKT Liberty Project which raised awareness about freedom of speech issues in the U.S. Harvey was also the president of Adam & Eve, the North Carolina–based company that sells sex toys, adult films and condoms. Consequently, he has been called "one of the most influential figures in the American sex industry today".
Harvey used profits from Adam & Eve to supplement support from international donors to protect millions of poor couples from unwanted pregnancies and HIV infections. In 2019, DKT International provided contraceptive protection to 49 million couples.
Harvey was born in Evanston, Illinois, to William Dow Harvey and Lucy Smith Harvey as the youngest of five siblings on April 25, 1938. He attended Harvard College from 1957 and received his bachelor's degree in 1961 in Slavic languages and literature. Between 1960 and 1962, he served in the army and was based at Ft. Meade, Maryland. He then joined the international charity CARE in 1963 to work in India. His five years' work with CARE on large-scale feeding programs for rapidly growing numbers of Indian children convinced Harvey of the importance of family planning and planted the first seeds in his mind of starting an initiative that could address the issue on a global scale.
He returned to the U.S. in 1969 and enrolled in the University of North Carolina's master's degree program in family planning administration. One of his classmates was the late Dr. Tim Black, a British physician (who went on to found Marie Stopes International, a large British charity also focused on family planning services). Harvey and Black founded Population Services International in 1970 which today works in almost 70 countries with an annual budget of $684 million (2013). Harvey served as executive director of PSI from 1970 to 1977 and remained on the PSI Board until 2003.
Harvey co-founded Adam & Eve in 1972 and continued as its president until his death. He also founded DKT International in 1989 and stepped down as its president and chief executive on December 31, 2013.
He served as executive producer on the 2015 documentary about censorship in comedy, Can We Take a Joke?, and the 2020 free speech documentary about former ACLU Executive Director Ira Glasser, Mighty Ira.
Harvey died from natural causes in Bethesda, Maryland, on December 2, 2021, at the age of 83.
Harvey's operational philosophy was unique[citation needed]: it combined altruism with strong business models. Adam & Eve was, and continues to be, one of the largest sex product companies in the world. Harvey's share of profits from it supported DKT International which sells low-priced contraceptives by using business channels that are found in every corner of the world, including in low-resource settings. Special projects, such as those with the military in Ethiopia (which obliges all soldiers to carry condoms when they leave the base), or with local medical practitioners in India who make a small profit selling condoms and pills, extend and supplement this approach and ensure the products are widely available.
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