DKT International (DKT) is a charitable non-profit organization that promotes family planning and HIV prevention through social marketing. The Washington, D.C.-based DKT was founded in 1989 by Phil Harvey and operates in 90 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.[1] Its revenue largely comes from sales of low-cost contraceptives. In 2023, DKT sold 949.58 million condoms, 120 million units of oral contraceptives, 33 million injectable contraceptives, 28.6 million emergency contraceptives and 5.4 million intrauterine devices (IUDs), among other products, in over 60 countries.[2] This is equivalent to 64.1 million couple years of protection (CYPs), making DKT one of the largest private providers of contraceptives in the developing world. The average cost per CYP was US$1.65.[3] DKT's marketing strategies have included advertising, creating location-specific brands, working with social networks and militaries, and targeting high-risk groups.[4][5][6][7][8] DKT also works with health workers and clinics that provide family planning products, information, and services.[4] Charity Navigator has given DKT a four-star rating for its finances, with 96.5% of its budget going towards programs and 3.4% towards headquarters expenses and fund raising in 2019.[9]
 | |
| Founded | 1989 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Phil Harvey |
| Focus | Family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention |
| Location | |
Area served | Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Asia, Latin America |
| Method | Social marketing of family planning and HIV/AIDS products and services |
President & CEO | Christopher Purdy |
Revenue | US $250.9 (2020) |
| Website | dktinternational.org |
History edit
Phil Harvey, the founder of DKT, became interested in family planning in 1968 while working on emergency food relief for CARE International in India.[10] In 1970, he and his fellow University of North Carolina student Tim Black founded the business Adam & Eve in order to finance their charitable activities, and also founded the non-profit health organization Population Services International that same year.[10][11][12][13] DKT International, named for D.K. Tyagi, an early pioneer of family planning in India, was founded in 1989.[14] DKT has grown rapidly over the years; its revenue from selling contraceptives increased from US$4.5 million in 1996 to $167.7 million in 2020, and its couple years of protection increased from 5.7 million in 2002 to 54.2 million in 2021.[15]
In 2006, DKT International refused to take the U.S. government's anti-prostitution pledge, feeling the pledge would interfere with its HIV/AIDS services worldwide. DKT challenged the pledge as a violation of First Amendment rights, with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ruled in favor of DKT in the District Court for the District of Columbia on 18 May 2006, but the D.C. Court of Appeals reversed the decision on 27 February 2007.[16][17]
In 2013, a different organization successfully challenged the pledge before the U.S. Supreme Court in Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International, Inc.[18]
Organization edit
On 31 December 2013, Phil Harvey stepped down as president after 24 years, and was replaced by Christopher Purdy. Its board includes Carlos Garcia, Karen Pak Oppenheimer, Christopher H. Purdy, Dr. Matthew Reeves, Julie Stewart, and Emeritus board member Robert L. Ciszewski. Purdy also serves as CEO of DKT International.[19]
In 2020, 66.8% of DKT's revenue was from contraceptive sales and related services, 26.7% from grants and contracts and 6.5% from other income. 52.2% of expenses were related to program costs, 44.a% to contraceptive costs, 1.4% to headquarters, 0.3% to fundraising and 2.1% to other expenses.[20] Revenue from contraceptive sales first exceeded donor support in 2005.[15]
For its first 26 years, DKT established stand-alone programs in each country and focused on countries with large markets, such as Ethiopia, Brazil and the Philippines. Eventually, though, DKT managers saw the benefits of a regional approach that can serve the reproductive health needs of multiple countries, including smaller ones. Therefore, DKT established its first regional program in French-speaking West and Central Africa in 2015. Since then, DKT has established six other regional platforms with two or more countries. These programs require fewer financial resources per country (and streamlined back office support), and leverages the common language, culture and regulatory environment of the region.[21]
Affiliates edit
DKT Womancare edit
In 2017, DKT launched DKT WomanCare, a marketing and distribution platform to advance DKT's mission of providing people around the world with reproductive health options. In close partnership with manufacturers, DKT WomanCare provides global integrated supply chain and marketing support.[22] It sells a range of reproductive health products to multilateral bodies, ministries of health, commercial entities and social marketing and family planning organizations, and supports product launches and sales with marketing and training of health providers.[23]
In 2020, DKT launched WomanCare Academy, an eLearning platform to improve providers’ confidence and capacity to provide reproductive health services. The first module orients providers to Levoplant (a 3 year contraceptive implant) and provides step-by-step instruction on the insertion and removal process.[24]
In 2021, DKT WomanCare sold 253,512 manual vacuum aspiration kits, 1.5 million cannulae and 1.7 million implants in 90 countries, producing 2 million couple years of protection. In 2021, WomanCare sold products in 102 countries.[25]
Carafem edit
Carafem is a nonprofit organization established by DKT International in 2013 to address challenges in reproductive and abortion care within the United States. Drawing inspiration from successful international strategies, the organization set out to address the diminishing availability of abortion providers in the U.S.
In 2015, Carafem opened its first clinic in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with a mission to bridge crucial healthcare disparities. Subsequently, the organization expanded its footprint, establishing centers in Atlanta,[26] Chicago, and Nashville. Carafem offers telehealthcare options to patients in 14 states and the District of Columbia.
Carafem is best known for its medically supported at-home abortion options, reaching patients in areas with limited healthcare access.[27][28][29]
Donors edit
As of 2022, DKT International's donors include: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Children's Investment Fund Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Embassy of Sweden, Erik and Edith Bergstrom Foundation, (British) Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Gates Philanthropy Partners, Government of Germany (KfW Development Bank), Government of India, Government of Sweden, National Postcode Lottery (Netherlands), Preston-Werner Ventures, Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), WestWind Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and anonymous donors.[30]
Programs edit
As of 2023, DKT International had 24 programs with sales in 90 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.[31][32] Some initiatives serve more than one country.
| Program | Geographical area | Year created | 2023 CYPs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil and South America | Latin America | 1990 | 2,743,217 |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | Africa | 2009 | 2,119,261 |
| DKT WomanCare | Global | 2017 | 1,498,468 |
| Egypt, Middle East and North Africa | Africa/Asia | 2004 | 2,194,973 |
| Ethiopia | Africa | 1990 | 4,275,559 |
| Francophone West and Central Africa | Africa | 2015 | 1,408,607 |
| Ghana and Anglophone West Africa | Africa | 2011 | 1,602,761 |
| India - Based in Bihar (Janani) | Asia | 1996 | 4,303,677 |
| India - Based in Mumbai | Asia | 1992 | 8,869,530 |
| Indonesia | Asia | 1996 | 10,866,373 |
| Kenya & East Africa | Africa | 2016 | 1,613,378 |
| Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean | Latin America | 2003 | 2,371,982 |
| Mozambique | Africa | 2009 | 620,699 |
| Myanmar | Asia | 2014 | 1,064,657 |
| Nigeria | Africa | 2012 | 5,670,383 |
| Pakistan & Afghanistan | Asia | 2012 | 6,172,346 |
| Philippines | Asia | 1990 | 3,578,740 |
| Thailand | Asia | 2009 | 86,232 |
| Turkey | Asia | 2008 | 346,217 |
| Vietnam | Asia | 1993 | 2,228,388 |
References edit
- ^ "Who We Are". DKT International. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ "Results". DKT International. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ "About DKT". DKT International. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
- ^ a b "How Social Marketing Changes Lives". DKT International. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ Batty, David (2 November 2007). "Coffee condoms promote safe sex in Ethiopia". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ Jordon, Miriam (21 September 1999). "Selling Birth Control to India's Poor: Medicine Men Market an Array Of Contraceptives". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Cheshes, Jay (2002). "Hard-Core Philanthropist". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 6 March 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ Schnayerson, Ben (24 November 2002). "AIDS in Asia: The Continent's Growing Crisis". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ "Charity Navigator - Rating for DKT International". www.charitynavigator.org. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Philip D. Harvey: King of porn, master of charity (including interview)". Afrik.com. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ "About Adam & Eve". Adam & Eve. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ "PSI at a Glance". Population Services International. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
- ^ "The Times obituary of Dr Tim Black, CBE 1937 - 2014". Marie Stopes International. Marie Stopes International (Originally published by The Times). Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- ^ "Phil Harvey: Kind of blue". The Independent. 23 April 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ a b "2020 DKT Annual Report" (PDF). DKT International. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ "ACLU and Public Health Groups Urge Appeals Court to Reject Bush Global AIDS Gag" (Press release). ACLU. 21 December 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. "DKT International v. USAID" (PDF). Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ Roberts, John (20 June 2013). "AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT v. ALLIANCE FOR OPEN SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL". Legal Information Institute. Cornell Law School. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Board of Directors". DKT International. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ "Operating Financials". DKT International. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
- ^ "Where We Are". DKT International. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ "Womancare: Who we are". Womancare. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ "Womancare: DKT WomanCare: A New Social Marketing Model". Womancare. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ "DKT WomanCare". DKT International. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ "Womancare: 2021 Global impact". Womancare. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ carafem (23 November 2016). "Why we decided to open an abortion clinic in Georgia". carafem. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ "Carafem Uses Telehealth to Make Abortion Care Accessible | Built In". builtin.com. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ carafem (8 May 2015). "'Abortion. Yeah, We Do That.' — A Look Into a New Model of Abortion Care in the US". carafem. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ Somashekhar, Sandhya (30 March 2015). "New spa-like abortion clinic is part of a trend to de-stigmatize the procedure". Washington Post. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ "Donors". DKT International. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- ^ "Our Programs". DKT International. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- ^ "Results". DKT International. Retrieved 21 February 2024.