Dear Friend of DKT,
Did you know that DKT is a major supplier of contraceptives and safe abortion technology to the public sector? In addition to our better known work in the private sector, DKT also has become a “go-to” partner for governments and NGOs to source high quality affordable products that are delivered in a timely, professional manner. Just last month, DKT provided over 500,000 oral contraceptive pills to the Ministry of Health in Niger. Read more below.
This newsletter also highlights the launch of misoprostol in Myanmar and our partnership with Pregna International to increase IUD access in 12 new countries.
Thank you for your support.
Christopher Purdy
Womancare and Pregna Announce Partnership
DKT Womancare has signed a partnership with Pregna International that will allow DKT to distribute three models of IUDs and one intrauterine system (IUS) to 12 countries in Africa, eastern Europe, and central Asia. IUDs remain one of the most effective and affordable contraceptives on the market today, and the partnership will make access to this method more readily available for women around the world. DKT is excited that this new opportunity will increase access to affordable and effective reproductive healthcare for more women.
Miso in Myanmar
DKT launched Misopristol in Myanmar in October.
Last month, DKT Myanmar launched Misofem , a pack of 12 misoprostol pills. Reception has been very positive, given the fact that there has been a shortage of product in the marketplace. DKT is proud to expand access to this life-saving drug.
DKT and the Public Sector
DKT plays an important role supplying governments and NGOs with contraceptive products when necessary, serving as a stopgap measure for the public sector to ensure contraceptive security. For example, this year DKT supplied tenders for the governments of Indonesia (570,000 IUDs), Pakistan (385,000 IUDs), Senegal (50,000 IUDs), and Niger (507,000 oral contraceptive pills). In addition, DKT partners with dozens of NGOs around the world supplying a range of contraceptives and safe abortion products at affordable prices.
Double the Op-Eds, Double the Fun
CEO Chris Purdy authored an article in Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters recently about the human right to pleasurable sex, pointing out that the inclusion of pleasure-focused language in reproductive health circles is “ a revolutionary and long overdue addition to the discourse, and provides a conceptual and programmatic framework that has the potential to shift how organizations and governments talk about contraception”.
Program Officer Margot Radding’s op-ed in Ms. magazine last month focuses on the role of social media and peer-to-peer promotion in de-stigmatizing and increasing access to birth control. Radding argues that “the promotion of birth control via social media has reduced stigma by shifting contraception into a conversation like any other, something akin to acne or a whiter smile,” and talks at length about the peer-to-peer promotion methods used by DKT in rural areas.
DKT Egypt collaborates with local Rotary Club
Women gather for an educational seminar on family planning and contraceptive methods in
Kahk Bahary, Egypt.
DKT Egypt partnered with the local Rotary Club to hold an educational seminar in the village of Kahk Bahary this month, focusing on the benefits of family planning and available contraceptive methods. The seminar was held in the local medical center with a mobile family planning clinic also present to make access to contraceptive methods readily available. DKT provided free Pregna IUDs and Fiesta condoms for the event, and over 200 women chose to adopt a family planning method after the seminar.
Contraceptive Social Marketing Statistics
In case you missed it, the 2018 Contraceptive Social Marketing Statistics have been released!
