DKT Pakistan has identified and begun the steps necessary to reach Pakistani couples and the more than six million women (20.1% of married women of reproductive age) with an unmet need for contraception. DKT is doing this in two distinct ways:
- Through social marketing of condoms like Josh and Prudence and other contraceptives like Heer IUDs and oral and injectable contraceptives in traditional and non-traditional sales outlets.
- Through social franchising in DKT’s Dhanak Health Care Centers network of midwife-owned and managed clinics (“dhanak” means rainbow in Urdu). The Dhanak clinics emphasize long-term methods (such as IUDs), adding diversity to a method mix that is heavily dependent on short-term contraceptives. Most of these clinics are renovations of existing clinics but some are newly constructed. In its first two years, DKT Pakistan opened 600 Dhanak clinics and has set a goal of opening 600 more by the end of 2015.
Both the social marketing and social franchising are focused on rural areas of Pakistan where 65% of the people live and where there are few health care providers and outlets for modern contraception.
DKT Pakistan uses two main tactics to reach new users of family planning products and services:
- In rural villages, DKT operates three mobile video units that put on shows in rural villages for both women and men. The shows entertain and educate people on their family planning option, and refer them to the nearest Dhanak DKT expects to have a total of six vehicles rolling by the end of 2015.
- In suburban areas, DKT implements “Dhanak Corners” — small, pop-up stands in front of pharmacies that dispense family planning advice and motivates women to visit the nearest Dhanak Health Care Center.
DKT Pakistan tests different tactics to promote family planning and sexual and reproductive health respectfully, but consistently, within the cultural boundaries of Pakistan. These TV advertisements show how DKT Pakistan creatively promotes family planning in the Pakistani context. In two years, DKT Pakistan has broadcast 41,290 TV spots and 14,874 radio spots, reaching an estimated 98 million people.