Happy Holidays from DKT

December 2021
Dear Friend of DKT,
Season's greetings! As 2021 comes to a close and we ring in the new year, we reflect on another challenging and remarkable year. 

Despite persistent challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, DKT continued to expand access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care, particularly through new solutions, activations, and technology. We are proud of what we have accomplished this year and look forward to what the new year will bring.

We also remember Phil Harvey, DKT’s founder, who passed away of natural causes on December 3. Read our announcement here.

Please see below to read highlights from the end of the year. 

Have a happy and healthy holiday season!

Chris Purdy
President
DKT DRC finds innovative ways to deliver contraceptives to rural communities
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… flying condoms? In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the unmet need for contraception is nearly 41%, driven in part by the lack of accessible health products. Poor infrastructure and road conditions make delivering contraceptive products to remote geographic areas incredibly difficult, causing stock-outs and unreliable access in health clinics and pharmacies. 

To remedy this situation, DKT DRC partnered with Village Reach to eliminate these disparities in access by using drones to deliver contraception in hard-to-reach regions. Traveling nearly 60 miles a day, drone delivery may become the new way to revolutionize the SRH landscape, providing safe, quick, and seamless airborne contraceptives.
Drone technology is one of the many ways DKT creates innovative solutions to contraceptive delivery.
DKT WomanCare makes Levoplant affordable for women around the world
In 2018, DKT WomanCare began marketing and selling Levoplant, expanding access to hormonal implants in markets around the world. In order to increase affordability, DKT reduced the price of Levoplant from $8.50 to $6.90 in 2018 (and then again to $6.70 in 2021). Between 2018 and 2021, customers procured more than 5.5 million units of Levoplant for distribution around the world, valued at nearly $38 million. 

By offering a third contraceptive implant prequalified by the World Health Organization, DKT disrupted the implant market with a more affordable implant. Donors have saved more than $9.1 million in four years by decreasing prices of Levoplant, ultimately shaping the contraceptive ecosystem, and delivering high-quality, affordable implants to women who want and need them.
Levoplant offers women with a safe, effective birth control method to avoid pregnancy.
DKT Ghana promotes HIV self-test kits through church activations
Beginning in 2021, DKT Ghana began promoting HIV Self-Test (HIVST) kits at public locations, including churches. This local and direct service care has become a regular, affordable way of reaching men and women with convenient and accessible HIV testing to make sure they are able to know their status easily. DKT has increased the number of outlets that stock the HIVST kits and we continue to promote health screening activities in churches and expand to other public areas at scale, including three cities: Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale. Since July, DKT has sold 725 kits directly to consumers, with nearly 540 coming from church activations.
Church activations serve men and women with access to HIV self-test kits in their local communities.
DKT Kenya launches new condom variant: Kiss Studded
DKT Kenya launched its new Kiss condom variant this year, Kiss Studded. Through a series of digital, radio, and in-person events, DKT generated demand by highlighting the Studded feature and the affordability of the product, providing consumers a condom that can be both high-quality and attainable. In an effort to engage youth audiences on digital platforms, DKT partnered with two popular Gengetone artists to unveil the Jipin Na Studded campaign, reaching audiences with the message that Kiss Studded condoms are best to use for “maximum pleasure and sensation”.

To hear from Kenyan artists Reckless and Ssaru, watch their Kiss Studded music video and interview here.
Recording artists Reckless and Ssaru share how Kiss Studded condoms best serve them and their partners' needs.
DKT Ghana and DKT WomanCare collaborate to host safe abortion activation event
In collaboration with DKT WomanCare, DKT Ghana hosted a roundtable discussion and training about safe abortion practices for local journalists and bloggers. Medical Director of Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Ali Samba, presented information on safe abortion procedures and laws in Ghana and demonstrated proper MVA use. Participants were also given the opportunity to perform surgical abortion procedures using papayas as models. 

The event aimed to increase awareness around MVA, demystify safe abortion in Ghana, and inspire more positive and supportive abortion messaging through social and mass media. 
Participants at the safe abortion training practice MVA use on papaya models.
About DKT

DKT is an innovative and adventurous social marketing organization that improves people's lives.



1001 Connecticut Ave. NW
Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20036
+1 202-223-8780