Dear Friend of DKT,
I recently returned from visiting DKT programs in Egypt and Turkey, where political instability and economic downturns impact issues like family planning. In spite of such challenges, these programs are finding ways to train providers, ensure contraceptive availability, and produce results. In the past year, DKT Egypt sold 2.4 million condoms and 6.5 million misoprostol tablets, while DKT Turkey sold 6.1 million condoms and 27,000 IUDs.
This newsletter includes some recent highlights, including a recent article on DKT Pakistan featured in the Impatient Optimists blog, as well as Egypt’s family planning training programs, the inaugural sale of IUDs in Myanmar, the engagement of youths through the use of social media in Brazil and Ghana, and more. As always, thank you for your interest in DKT International.
Cheers,
Christopher Purdy
President
The Importance of Family Planning in Pakistan
DKT Pakistan was recently featured in Impatient Optimists, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation blog. In this article, country director Juan Enrique Garcia situates family planning in the cultural and political context of Pakistan. Sensitive of traditional values and the patriarchal nature of society, DKT has played an influential role in improving access to contraceptives. Since 2012, women have been reached in the most remote areas, including the KPK province and the SWAT valley. Through the 800 Dhanak social franchise clinics, DKT Pakistan is training providers and providing a full line of reproductive health services. Read the full article here .
DKT Pakistan provided more than 841,000 CYPs in 2014.
Training Providers in Egypt
Chris Purdy attends a July DKT training 12 physicians at a polyclinic at “El-Hosary Mosque” in the Giza governorate.
In Egypt, approximately 30% of all contraceptive users rely on the IUD and the doctors who provide them. As the main provider of IUDs to the private sector, DKT normally conducts 4-5 IUD insertion training sessions for junior doctors each month, focusing on our range of IUD products, quality of care, and safe insertion and removal. In the past year, DKT Egypt has trained around 500 providers, and sold over 200,000 IUDs. In July, DKT partnered with the El-Hosary Mosque, which has a medical clinic that provides services to low-income people. This partnership helps to break down cultural barriers that stand in the way of reproductive health equality and social progress in Egypt.
Transparency and Results
DKT strives to make our results, impact, and finances transparent and available to the public. For this reason, sales figures for each country’s program is available by year, including a breakdown by product. In addition, these sales figures are calculated into CYPs, a commonly accepted metric to gauge impact and efficiency. The impact results are also easily available on our website and include an analysis of pregnancies prevented and maternal deaths averted. DKT also compiles social marketing statistics from around the world and also makes these available on a yearly basis. Finally, our financials and audits are posted to our website. Transparency reflects our commitment to publicly measuring our work, sharing how we determine results, and leaving ourselves open to improvement. We invite you to follow us on YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, and visit our website in order to stay up to date with DKT’s impact and results.
Increasing IUD Sales in Myanmar
The Lydia IUD made its debut in Yangon, Myanmar in July.
n July, DKT celebrated the first sale of IUDs in Myanmar. The Lydia Sleek IUD was offered in a Yangon pharmacy by trained Lydia medical representatives, and we are pleased to report that the IUD has been well-received by the public. DKT now sells IUDs in 18 programs worldwide. To ensure the continued success of contraceptive products, DKT uses the power of social media, advertisement and social franchising to reach remote and vulnerable populations. Follow this link to watch this fun advertisement that aims to challenge taboos and correct myths surrounding the IUD in Indonesia, and stay tuned for advertisements relating to the IUD in the forthcoming months in Myanmar!
Engaging Young People with Social Media
DKT Mexico advertises Prudence products using social media platforms such as Instagram (@useprudence).
Research shows that the use of social media to encourage brand preference improves cost-efficiency and sales. By making our products and services accessible to users in creative ways using social media, DKT encourages participation in family planning. DKT Ghana, for example, uses Facebook as a platform to educate users on contraception and HIV prevention, while DKT Brazil launches ads on the popular phone applications, Snapchat and Instagram, to reach young adults with the Prudence brand.
