At DKT, we pride ourselves on innovation with new products, applications of technology and, highlighted in this newsletter, our creativity around educational mass media campaigns. From sexy, bold advertisements to thoughtful video series, DKT utilizes the influence of video and digital to share important sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and make these conversations fun.

Below, we share highlights from several recent such campaigns as well as news of our first sale in South Sudan and the release of DKT’s 2021 Annual Report.

Happy reading!

Chris Purdy

Despite COVID-19 challenges, 2020 was a record-breaking year for DKT. We delivered a total of 48.6 million CYPs across more than 90 countries and trained and detailed an estimated 250,000 health providers. These numbers produced critical health impact by preventing 11.3 million unintended pregnancies, 49,000 maternal deaths and 12.8 million unsafe abortions. Additionally, our report highlights the evolving role that DKT is playing in the life cycle of a contraceptive. By supporting the upstream, midstream, and downstream stages of increasing contraception availability and use, DKT is expanding markets and supporting women and men around the world make contraceptive choices. Read the full report here.

In an effort to promote Choice oral contraceptives, DKT India launched a new digital video commercial series, titled “The Choice is Mine.” Featuring women from different backgrounds, the series focuses on empowerment and making the right choice for each individual’s unique situation. Watch an episode or the whole series on our YouTube channel. The choice is yours!

DKT India’s new series, “The Choice is Mine,” highlights women’s reproductive freedom in choosing the contraception that works best for their lives.

(Safe) Sex It Up campaign launches in DRC to normalize contraception and pleasure

In the new (Safe) Sex It Up campaign, DKT DRC’s mass media advertising features a young married couple who still find time for fun even with two children. The couple is able to enjoy a safe, healthy sex life with the help of an IUD, which offers long-term protection against unintended pregnancy. The creative new ad accomplishes something rare: making IUDs sexy as pleasure enhancers. By focusing on pleasure and fun, DKT’s new ad emphasizes that prioritizing SRH care should not be boring. Watch the full ad here.

WFD is featured in an episode on the Abortion, with love podcast about expanding abortion care through digital platforms and resources.

DKT’s partner Women First Digital (WFD) was recently featured on an episode of the new podcast, Abortion, with love. The show is centered around reclaiming the stigma around abortion and focusing on compassionate care and reproductive justice. WFD appeared on their episode about utilizing the internet to share information on abortion and increase access. As the pandemic limited in-person interactions, WFD played a critical role in ensuring people were still able to access the SRH care and information they needed. Listen to the episode here.

DKT’s Stories of Impact continues with a new entry about Ruqia Younas, a Community Midwife in Pakistan. After becoming a midwife in 2011, Ruqia was eager to use her new knowledge to help women and children in her village. Eventually, she found DKT Pakistan’s Dhanak clinic network and started working with them in 2014. Ruqia finally opened her own clinic in the Bhattiwala village and now provides maternal and child health care, a range of contraceptive options, and post-abortion care services. Last year, she had a monthly client list of 50 patients and she is now a trusted resource for all in her community. Unintended pregnancies have taken a sharp decline as sexual and productive health information and contraceptive products become more common, in large part by DKT and Ruqia’s efforts. Read her full story here.

Ruqia Younas, a Community Midwife in Pakistan, works on maternal and child health in her community through DKT’s Dhanak clinic network

DKT made its first-ever sale to South Sudan in early 2021 selling misoprostol, medical abortion combipacks, MVA kits, emergency contraception, condoms, and IUDs. South Sudan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, (around 790 women die during 100,000 live births), making the need for these products all the more critical. DKT is laying the groundwork for growth and is eager to start working with South Sudanese women and girls to meet their SRH needs and avoid unsafe abortions.