Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) May 04, 2017
DKT International, one of the largest private providers of family planning services and products in the developing world, is proud to release their 2016 global impact data, marking their best year yet. In 2016, DKT provided 33 million couple years of protection, thereby preventing nearly 7 million unwanted pregnancies, 14,600 maternal deaths and 4.7 million unsafe abortions across 33 countries worldwide- a 10% increase over 2015.
A couple year of protection is the estimated protection provided by family planning services during a one-year period, based upon the volume of all contraceptives sold to clients during that period.
“We are proud to announce that our organization collectively had our best year in history, serving millions of women and men around the world,” says Christopher Purdy, President & CEO of DKT International. “We estimate that DKT provided contraception to approximately 47% of contraceptive users in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 34% of users in Ethiopia, and 28% of users in both Ghana and the Philippines.”
DKT is also pleased to announce many “firsts” this past year including:
- Selling contraceptives in 9 new countries: Iran, Senegal, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guatemala, Venezuela, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic.
- Announcing its formal commitment to Family Planning 2020, a multilateral partnership which aims to provide 120 million women in developing countries with voluntary access to contraception.
- Being awarded a $25 million grant and a first-of-its-kind $12.5 million loan from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to meet FP2020 goals.
“We attribute these results to the hard work of our in-country teams who are dedicated to ensuring that women who want family planning can find it when and where they need it. We look forward to continuing to build on this momentum in 2017 to ensure increased access to contraception and safe abortion.”
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Since 1989, DKT International’s core mission has been to provide safe and affordable options for family planning and HIV prevention through social marketing in 33 populous countries throughout Latin America, Africa, and Asia encompassing almost 62% of the world’s population.