DKT's Best of 2024 Newsletter

Dear Friend of DKT,?

2024 was a difficult year for the sexual and reproductive health community.? Global political unrest, economic uncertainties, and polarizing worldviews provided no shortage of challenges for us as we worked to stay true to our mission and vision. I’m proud to say that our organization remains resilient. DKT’s global teams have proven their tenacity and grit, defying the odds to ensure that contraceptive and safe abortion information, products, services, and technology continue to be available and affordable to millions of people around the world. I’m also confident that DKT’s perseverance, strong organizational foundations, and creative adaptability will see us through the tough times we are bound to face in 2025.

We will share our 2024 results early next year but preliminary indications point to a record-breaking year.??

Behind all the numbers and statistics are the lives of millions of people trying to make personal decisions that impact their well-being. For the past several months, we have highlighted the stories of some of these people through the efforts funded by the Phil Harvey Impact Funds. You can read below a bit about some of these projects that have greatly impacted communities across the world.

DKT continues to be an extremely cost-effective operation. Our headquarters cost is less than 2% of our global budget and our fundraising budget is a fraction of that. In this final month of the year, we want to thank you for your continued support and invite you to contribute if it’s in your budget. The cost to you (and donors) to deliver one full year of contraception is less than $1.?

You can send us a check or give online here.

Below, we highlight in greater detail the many accomplishments of 2024. We hope our work inspires you to continue your activism and support.

Warm regards for the holiday season,

Chris Purdy

Nigeria initiative builds on and expands reproductive ecosystem in key states?

We are proud to announce DKT International has received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for a bold, new initiative in Nigeria. Supply Chain Strengthening and Implementation will ensure wide availability of high-quality, affordable contraceptive products by strengthening supply chains and building the existing health system’s capacity through 2028, incorporating strategic partnerships with local and international organizations to increase understanding of, and demand for, contraceptive products and services. The initiative will generate over 2.8 million CYPs at an efficient cost of $2.83 per CYP and cater to private sector outlets, offering women and girls more choices in method and channel preference.?

For more information about Supply Chain Strengthening and Implementation, download the press release here.?

Perseverance pays off: DKT launches 50+ products in 2024. See the list!

DKT International is on track for a record-breaking 2024. This past year, we launched 56 new products in 31 countries and expanded into a handful of new markets. It was a big year for IUD sales and there was a lot of progress made with regard to safe abortion in Central America.?

The organization made strides into Burundi, Cambodia, Laos, Nicaragua, and Honduras this year. DKT entered the Nicaraguan market and recorded its first sales of mifepristone (the first in history there), and also began selling mifepristone in Guatemala. DKT Latin America North (LATAM) is also selling condoms, IUDs, and manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) kits in Nicaragua, and registered and began selling several new products throughout Central America.?

DKT Mekong (formerly DKT Vietnam) grew to include Laos and Cambodia and reported its first sales of oral contraceptive pills (OCs), emergency contraceptive pills (ECs), and Fiesta condoms in Cambodia in the first quarter of 2024.

In April, DKT’s US-based affiliate carafem expanded its telehealth abortion services into New York state, and in November into Michigan, increasing access to critical abortion care in the Midwest. The organization launched its New York operation with an eye-catching campaign in New York City’s Times Square that caught the attention of the Anthem Awards, securing them “gold” recognition. To learn more about carafem’s services, visit their website.?

For a full accounting of all our new offerings around the world in 2024, view the chart below:

Data and Research Spotlight?

At the beginning of 2024, DKT set an ambitious goal to conduct more research, with the hope of providing additional analysis and thought leadership to the field and to provide our partners with quantifiable, data-driven results to support decision-making and further investing in reproductive and sexual health. We handily met that goal.?

We are especially proud of our two-part study “Contraceptive Use: Estimating DKT’s Contribution in Key Countries,” which focused on 12 key markets and revealed that DKT has significantly expanded access to modern contraceptives across numerous low- and middle-income countries. Results suggest that DKT programs have both grown the market and that an increased share of the market is turning towards DKT for a consistent contraceptive supply. Read part one of the study here, and part two here.

• DKT and the Behavioral Insights Lab (BiL) collaborated to study abortion journeys in Ghana and Nigeria, finding that medical abortion (MA) awareness is highest among urban women and those in lower-income brackets and demonstrating the potential of medical abortion as a "pro-poor" intervention. The study highlights the critical role private sector providers play in offering access to MA – particularly for economically disadvantaged women. View and download your copy of the report here.
• A study by DKT AWA (Anglophone West Africa) examined barriers that women face in accessing self-injecting contraceptives in Ghana and opportunities that exist to improve access through pharmaceutical channels. Read the full blog for insights into how these changes can unlock the potential of the private sector – specifically pharmacies – in supporting women's reproductive health.
• Our affiliates also produced some significant research in 2024. carafem, DKT’s US-based affiliate, and IBIS Reproductive Health published new research highlighting the privacy, ease, and flexibility of telehealth abortion services. The study found that 88% of clients who received telehealth medical abortion services stated they would choose telehealth services again, noting that they found the experience accepting, convenient, and technologically accessible. Download and read the research paper here.
• White papers from DKT French West and Central Africa highlight DKT as a leading force in the sales of emergency contraceptive pills in the region and discuss how the LydiaConseil call center provides accurate, reliable, and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information to callers.
• The DKT team in the DRC published a white paper detailing how DKT has had a positive impact on the number of safe abortions in the country. DKT trains healthcare providers in medical abortion usage and distributes medication throughout the country.

A fight for our future: Reproductive rights in the U.S.

Despite the challenges that DKT and its partners will face as a result of the incoming administration, carafem remains committed to providing safe and effective abortion services where possible.

Our official statement on the US election and what it means for us, our partners, and reproductive rights more generally can be found on our website. These changes, however negatively impactful, are not slowing us down.?

Phil Harvey Impact Fund

For the past several months we have been providing updates about the initiatives inspired by the Phil Harvey Impact funds – $50,000 allocated to each DKT office to honor Phil and his legacy. Highlights include building a “women’s home” in the Republic of the Congo to support survivors of domestic abuse, training midwives to start their own social enterprises in the Philippines, and launching a rural outreach program in India aimed at improving maternal and child health.

Every month, we have been featuring these projects in this newsletter and this month, we are proud to share the initiatives launched with these funds in Turkey, Myanmar, Egypt, and Vietnam:?

Here’s how Phil Harvey Impact Funds have been used in the past couple of months:

• In Turkey, DKT built a fully operational reproductive healthcare clinic in Kahramanmara?, Turkey, to restore vital services after earthquakes damaged local infrastructure. The clinic provides maternal care, family planning, IUD insertion, and psychological support to a displaced and traumatized population, helping address both immediate and long-term health needs.
• In Myanmar, teams distributed food and emergency aid to impoverished communities. Funds will also be used to establish a foundation to fund additional community-based projects.?

• DKT Mekong used the funds to conduct e-learning programs for 2,800 pharmacists, providing comprehensive knowledge about their newCHOICE oral contraceptive pills.?
• In Egypt, DKT led activities in rural areas of Upper Egypt with high rates of poverty. Funds are being used for training on the importance of community involvement in promoting health education and accurate healthcare information and community meetings, and workshops. Teams also dispatched a free medical convoy to impoverished villages, providing contraceptives, counseling, and medical support.?

Marketing highlights

Of course, there were ads. DKT did what DKT does best in 2024 – pushing boundaries and working to create marketing campaigns and advertisements that are creative, fun, bold, and sex-positive.

Below are some of our newest and most daring ad campaigns.

• The “Wild! Because You Can” campaign from DKT Philippines highlighted that sex positivity is not exclusive to heteronormative relationships.

• DKT Philippines had a big year in media, launching a new website for its Trust brand and rolling out a campaign to market the line.??
• Our Janani program (traditionally a very conservative market) released a sexy new ad for its Style condom brand

• Making IUDs cool for GenZ: a new ad campaign from Mexico featured a young woman unabashedly in control of her life and sexuality.
• De-stigmatizing discussions around contraception in a new commercial from Josh condoms