DKT International is a registered, non-profit organization founded in 1989 to focus the power of social marketing on some of the largest countries with the greatest needs for family planning, HIV/AIDS prevention and safe abortion. By doing so, DKT has achieved tremendous health impact, and done it cost-efficiently. Although we work mostly in the private sector, we also support the public sector, often partnering with government health facilities to reach the total market.
Scale: DKT is one of the largest private providers of family planning products in the world, having generated over 64.1 million couple years of protection (CYPs) in 2023. Five of the ten largest contraceptive social marketing programs in the world are DKT programs. As of 2023, DKT has offices in 30+ countries, with a sales presence in more than 100.
Business-oriented NGO: DKT is an NGO that thinks like a business: We use business skills to address social ills, namely maternal and child mortality, safe abortion, and HIV/AIDS. We create brands of contraceptives and other health products to advertise and sell as consumer goods. We have found that this approach inspires more people to use contraception, as many people prefer to access these services through the private sector.
Significant cost-recovery: We recover a significant portion of our expenses through sales: Revenue from products and services covers approximately 82% of our operating costs. This insulates us from changing political climates and donor funding priorities, and gives us increased autonomy. Each year, our donor cost per CYP is less than $1. This low cost per CYP is made possible through our most sustainable programs — including Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and the Philippines — as well as our low overhead costs.
Focus on transparency: We are relentlessly transparent, both in our results and finances. At the bottom of every page on this website, you will find a link to “Commitment to Transparency” and “Financial Statements.” We have a page on “Results” on this website (find it under “Resources”). Check us out and let us know at info@dktinternational.org if you have questions or ideas on how we can be more transparent.
Mission
Through dynamic social marketing, DKT provides couples with affordable and safe options for contraception, safe abortion, and HIV/AIDS prevention.
DKT works to:
- Increase the availability and affordability of a full spectrum of modern birth control methods
- Strengthen the supply chain to increase availability of contraception and improve method mix variety
- Increase demand and inspire new contraceptive users through advertising and behavior change campaigns
Vision
DKT is an innovative and adventurous social marketing enterprise that improves people’s lives.
The Name DKT
DKT International is named in honor of D.K. (Deep) Tyagi, who served as assistant commissioner of Family Planning for the Government of India. Mr. Tyagi was the architect of an extensive communication and behavior change program that introduced modern methods of family planning to hundreds of millions of Indians. Although he died at the young age of 41, Mr. Tyagi made a major contribution to his country’s family planning efforts.
D.K. Tyagi maintained close ties with his village in Uttar Pradesh, which allowed him to see a basic incongruity between national family planning goals and traditional aspirations of rural Indians and his work did much to bridge this gap. His ideas and actions were largely responsible for the design and dissemination of a massive behavior change program that brought awareness and knowledge to millions of people. He began his work in 1966, at a time when modern contraceptives methods were virtually unknown in rural India. His success in saturating the country with simple, attractive messages and designs (including the Red Triangle, which is now in use in several other countries); overcame age-old societal barriers; and greatly increased public awareness of birth control.