News and Updates from DKT International

Dear Friend of DKT,

Last month, we shared news on two DKT financial milestones: procurement ‘sustainability’ in DR Congo and our global Cost per CYP dropping to $0.94 cents in 2022.

As enthusiastic as we are to share this news, we want to make clear: we still need the support of donors large and small. Donor support enables DKT to accomplish much of our critical work. This includes last mile distribution to far-flung areas, subsidizing outreach services for low income groups, and engaging with vulnerable populations like young and LGBTQ people.  

This is a fine balance that DKT straddles. We utilize sales revenues to cover the growing cost of commodity procurement and operations, but depend on critical funds from donors to enable many aspects of our work. This is particularly true in environments where lower incomes, humanitarian crises, or special circumstances dictate our ability to cover costs.

Our newsletter this month covers some of these efforts. DKT partner clinics in the DR Congo and Mozambique serve the most vulnerable populations with services and information. Health providers around the world turn to DKT for vital e-learning opportunities, made possible through online certifications, and professional development opportunities. And in increasingly conservative countries like Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, DKT is tackling the stigma around contraception and post-abortion care.

Finally, I’m pleased to share a new opinion piece co-authored with FP2030’s Executive Director, Dr. Samukeliso Dube. In it, we challenge the SRH community to act now to move the reproductive health agenda forward. You can access the piece here and ⬇️ below. 

As always, we thank you for your support and are happy to receive your comments and questions.

Cheers,

Christopher Purdy

A call to action on the global reproductive health agenda: The time to act is now

The sexual and reproductive health sector (public, private and NGO) should and can do more to galvanize change in the months and years ahead, and do so with less process and more action, as to affect the lives of millions of people around the world.

DKT’s experience across the SRH ecosystem shapes markets and positions us as strong leaders in the field, allowing those who support us to also leverage the influence we bring to the table. This past week we put out a "Call to Action" in Devex, in coordination with FP2030's Executive Director Dr. Samukeliso Dube, providing a roadmap for future change in the SRH field. “These 7 specific actions will help improve reproductive health” is a “wish list” of actions that governments, organizations, and the private sector can take to ensure progress for women, girls. If enacted, they would profoundly increase access to contraception and advance the goals of FP2030. (Anyone have Mark Zuckerberg on speed dial? You'll understand once you read the article)...

In the DR Congo, DKT operates a network of trained nurses (mostly female and known as “bees”) who travel to low-income communities providing contraception and ad-hoc clinical services. Last month, 28 of these women were trained on psychosocial and mental health counseling for victims of gender-based violence by the Panzi Foundation, a renowned NGO founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Denis Mukwege. 

The session was rich in content and deepened understanding on the morbid nature of sexual violence. At the end of the theoretical training, participants visited mobile clinics financed by DKT DR Congo and learned that on that day, 112 women had visited the clinic, 55 of whom were survivors of sexual violence (52 over 18 and 3 under the age of 18). The “bees” were accompanied by a psychosocial assistant, a clinical psychologist, a nurse and a doctor from the Foundation.

In the MENA region, DKT teams routinely liaise with government leaders to raise awareness about sexual and reproductive health needs. The strength of these relationships was on full display  as DKT Jordan was awarded a government tender to supply 25,000 units of Lana T Plus IUDs to governmental hospitals and refugee camps. In Egypt, the Egyptian government recently launched “The Golden Thousand Days for the Development of the Egyptian Family,” and DKT Egypt sponsored the launch event. Country Manager Sofia Hanna represented DKT as a speaker at the event, highlighting the role DKT plays in providing Egyptians access to quality family planning services and information, and emphasized the importance of raising awareness amongst women to encourage more users.

In Nigeria, collaborations with the federal and state ministries of health culminated in the fourth phase of training with primary healthcare providers. The previous three training sessions were held in Kano, Sokoto and Katsina states. The five-day training in Ogun state included theoretical and practical sessions on counseling and insertion of long-acting reversible contraceptives for the participants, ensuring that they receive the required knowledge and skills to enhance service delivery.

Choose your contraception like you choose your style–it's that easy (and that normal)!

The consumer flyers come in a variety of print versions, to be distributed nationwide in pharmacies and in waiting rooms of hospitals, doctors’ offices and midwives clinics. There are also digital versions posted on DKT Indonesia’s social media and third party platforms.

DKT MENA breaks new ground in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the “You Are the Safety” online campaign

Instagram, Facebook and other online media are valuable and heavily relied-upon tools used by most of DKT's country teams and are particularly popular with women and users between the ages of 18 to 34. DKT programs use social media dynamically, partnering with well-known and respected medical and thought leaders, influencers and entertainment figures to support contraceptive behavior change campaigns and keep conversations around contraception and safe abortion stigma-free. 

This month, DKT KSA moved into more promotional activities by launching their new Instagram page, specifically tailored for the KSA audience. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is a new market for DKT and has been active throughout 2023, generating 112,000 CYPs thus far and focusing on condoms as well as IUDs. The approach in the KSA is to support business and promote ideas related to family planning and reproductive health. To do so, our new site features “live” and self-recorded sessions with Egyptian gynecologist Dr. Noha El-Ziedy, who is working in the KSA. In the session linked to the button below she address reproductive health issues faced by girls up to the age of 16.

Leveraging influencers, male and female, to talk about abortion in Mozambique

In Mozambique, teams harnessed momentum around a recently-launched, abortion-specific website by gathering a group of highly respected women and men for a roundtable discussion about safe abortion. At DKT, we believe that knowledge is power, and that all people have the right to make informed decisions about their reproductive health. DKT Mozambique initiated the discussion to share valuable information on how to ensure a safe abortion and the care options available in the country.

Expanding global capacity building through DKT online "academies"

DKT Myanmar has collaborated with UNFPA to launch the “FemHealth Academy” via the Z-Waka platform to enhance the capacity of healthcare providers through digital training. A total of eight training videos are being developed in consultation with a renowned local expert in obstetrics and gynecology, Dr. Nyein Moe Thaw. 

Topics range from how-to’s for popular contraception products such as injectables, to Post Abortion Care; Postpartum Family Planning; Family Planning Counseling; and Contraceptive Method Choice Public Education. Since the first session was held in June, the channel has gained 344 registrants, with 257 actively participating. The majority of attendees have expertise in Family Medicine, General Practice, and Internal Medicine. 

Similar platforms have been launched in nearly every DKT country office and region in the past year and a half. In Brazil, the DKT Academy has been in operation since June, with nearly 750 students enrolled. DKT’s affiliates DKT WomanCare and Women First Digital (WFD) offer comprehensive training and certification platforms of their own. WFD, just launched a new toolkit "Online Counseling and Abortion with Pills" on safe2choose.org.

The WFD counseling team designed the toolkit in the form of an online course to enhance the training of online abortion counselors. The course covers strategies to combat abortion stigma; comprehensive sexual and reproductive health knowledge; essential digital safety tools and self-care techniques tailored for counselors. It is important to note that the course is not a manual on how to use abortion pills. Instead, it provides a valuable set of skills for delivering safe and empathetic abortion counseling online.

Marketing Highlights for September

Myanmar Fiesta condom ads make a splash: an estimated 65 million impressions in the first three months

Three months after its launch, DKT Myanmar’s Fiesta ad campaign has left a massive impression on the country–generating notable financial and marketing returns.

Overall condom sales are at 149% of the annual target and early returns on the sexy, bold campaign produced the following results on social media:



• Total Reach – 27 million for all campaign contents including the video clips
• Total Impression – 65 million impressions
• Main Clips Thruplays – 2.6 million (100% video views)
• Main Clips – Shared 2,730 times
• New Page Followers – 5K (Organic)

Sales aside, the campaign also sparked a fair amount of ingenuity from the country’s younger generation, who put their own spin on the popular ads on Instagram and Facebook, developing hilarious “copy cat” ads. 

DKT Egypt takes their "live" show on the road

Nothing sets the mood for joy better than a live marching band and in Egypt, this was the strategy DKT teams used to garner some attention for its products this summer. Teams hit up cafes, nightclubs and boardwalks in three locations near the North Coast, accompanied by a live marching band in August, following the music up with fun summer giveaways, including branded transparent cosmetic bags, packs of playing cards, tailor-made Connect 4 games, and Fiesta condoms samples. Over 1,000 consumers attended in each location.