Five Things to Look for in Family Planning During 2013 According to DKT International

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DKT International, one of the largest private sector providers of family planning and contraception in 19 developing countries, offers five predictions for international family planning and reproductive health for 2013.

“Social marketing programs such as DKT’s will continue to be a major driver of global family planning”

“The use of contraceptives has taken off around the world and there is no turning back,” says DKT President and Founder Philip D. Harvey. “In the early 1960s, only 30% of couples worldwide, and just 9% of couples in the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America were using contraception. Today 62% of all couples everywhere use birth control, including an astonishing 59% of couples in the developing world. That momentum should continue in 2013.”

Five things to watch in 2013:

• Will the momentum from the 2012 London Family Planning Summit continue? Many financial commitments were made to provide an additional 120 million women in the poorest countries with family planning services by 2020. In 2013, we will see if those promises are honored.
• Increased private sector involvement in the delivery of family planning, spurred by organizations like DKT International and the Acumen Fund.
• New birth control products for women, such as contraceptive patches, long-lasting vaginal rings, hormonal intra-uterine systems, and female condoms.
• Greater availability of misoprostol (used both for safe abortion and post-partum hemorrhaging) as a safe medical abortion option.
• More pressure for middle income countries like Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, Turkey and Vietnam to be self-sufficient in family planning as global donor aid is reduced.

“Social marketing programs such as DKT’s will continue to be a major driver of global family planning,” adds DKT Executive Vice President Christopher H. Purdy. “With the growing availability and use of the Internet and social media, private and public sector organizations will further transform family planning by incorporating online technologies into their educational, outreach and marketing programs.”

Since 1989, DKT International has provided safe and affordable options for family planning and HIV prevention through social marketing, establishing it as one of the largest private providers of family planning products and services in the developing world. www.dktinternational.org.