Number of clients served:
: clients
DKT Democratic Republic of the Congo
DKT Democratic Republic of the Congo
Not-for-profit
Year launched: 2009Existing or expanding (post-pilot)
Program Website
Country of Operation
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Target geography
Target Population
Target income level
- Bottom 20%
- Lower-middle income (20-40%)
- Middle-income (40-60%)
Health focus
- Family planning and reproductive health
- HIV/AIDS
- Maternal, newborn and child health
Summary
DKT is in the process of establishing an office to begin social marketing family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention programs in a very poor country with a very limited health infrastructure.Program goals
The typical family in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has 6 children, and the contraceptive prevalence rate for modern methods among all women is 6 percent. The HIV prevalence rate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is currently 3.2 percent among adults ages 15-49, or a total of one million people. 120,000 of the HIV infected population are under 14 years of age. DKT seeks to increase contraceptive prevalence rates, not only to slow unsustainable population growth but to decrease HIV/AIDS infections.
Key program components
Increasing access to contraceptives
In May of 2011, DKT started selling oral contraceptive pills, IUDs, and a second brand of condom. DKT has now expanded its operations to include Bas Congo province. Further expansion is planned.
Although all contraceptive methods are covered, an emphasis is placed on building capacity of clinicians to provide quality counseling and service delivery of long term methods of contraceptives. The program also seeks to enable pharmacists and community mobilizers to provide correct information regarding long term methods of contraceptives and make referrals to clinics that have been trained in these methods.
Social Marketing
DKT is building a reproductive health social marketing program in the heavily populated Kinshasa metropolitan area. Promotional events for OK Condoms have been held in Bas Congo and Bandundu provinces. During these events, DKT staff wear OK Condom T-shirts and distribute samples and leaflets while riding in a caravan of vehicles branded with OK, stopping at markets and bars to interact with people. DKT Congo broadcasts a musical advertisement on TV and radio and played through loudspeakers on sales vehicles. The OK Condom continues to garner brand equity.
Maternal and Child Health
DKT is also directing a pilot program to make misoprostol available for prevention of post-partum hemorrhaging, a leading contributor to maternal mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo. After a successful first phase, the pilot is now in its second phase.
Scale
Financials
Reported Results
Related Programs
DKT Indonesia helps decrease infant and maternal mortality and lower HIV infection rates by training and working with midwives and increasing the use of contraception in Indonesia through a dynamic social marketing program called Andalan.
A program focused on contraceptive use to manage population growth and protect against HIV/AIDs.
DKT Ethiopia is the leading provider of condoms and contraceptives in Ethiopia, supplying 75% of the condoms and 40% of the oral contraceptives in Ethiopia from 2005 – 2010.
DKT-Turkey is a social marketing enterprise with a mission to provide family planning services and prevent HIV/AIDS transmissions. DKT’s decision to establish a program in Turkey was based on the country’s high rates of unintended pregnancies and abortion.
DKT Philippines is using an innovative social marketing campaign to increase the use of condoms and other birth control in the Philippines.
