In 2024 alone, we delivered a record 4.7 million Couple Years of Protection (CYPs), making us the second-largest social marketing program in Africa.

This achievement reflects our mission to expand access to affordable, high-quality family planning—helping millions take control of their health and futures.

Join us in celebrating this milestone and the lives we’ve changed!

The post DKT Ethiopia: Empowering Millions Through Family Planning first appeared on DKT Ethiopia.

DKT Ethiopia has been working to change this by supplying sanitation pads to more than 50,000 schoolgirls in rural parts of the country through the REACH project, in partnership with EngenderHealth, Amref Health Africa AMREF, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ethiopia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8QF4E93gSk

The post DKT Ethiopia has been supplying sanitation pads to more than 50,000 schoolgirls in rural parts of Ethiopia. first appeared on DKT Ethiopia.

Instead, that session turned out to be a turning point in his life. “The project helped me to graduate safely with a clearly outlined life plan,” he says.

Amanuel, 28 years old, grew up in Bahir Dar, capital of the Amhara region, where he attended Bahir Dar Academy and got good grades. His parents were both in health – his father was a health officer and his mother a midwifery nurse.

But when he went to Arba Minch University in southern Ethiopia, he drifted. The classes were too easy, and he became bored. He started skipping classes and spent most of his time in the city with friends.

“At that time, I was too much a drug addict,” he recalls. “ I smoked too much – weed and cigarettes – and drank too much. I got into almost every risky behavior, and had no goals in my life.”

In 2013, he stumbled on an event at his university organized by HEI. Its goal was to reduce irresponsible sexual behavior, unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections by delivering quality information to university students. HEI showed Amanuel that a lack of life skills and planning and drug abuse lead students to risky behavior.

“They had some interesting techniques to embed the messages in the art and the storytelling. They were speaking to my life. I became more and more engaged. I decided that I could give something, and by giving something, I would gain many things.”

“The biggest thing I can say about this program is that it gives youth chances. The project didn’t treat us like victims. If it did, I would be the first one to leave. I was the problem but I was also the solution. HEI gave me that insight.”

Very quickly, Amanuel became one of the stars of HEI at his university. He also became active in TemariNet, DKT’s social networking platform designed for university students, working on the editorial and social media campaign side.

“We realized that university students know many things about SRH (sexual and reproductive health) but they need to be reminded. We know we have to use condoms, but we forget. That reminder should not be just the direct way – use condoms, don’t cheat on your partner, have a life partner. We design games and different approaches to remind people that they need to take care of themselves.”

In 2016, Amanuel graduated with a degree in electrical and computer engineering. He now works as a self-employed digital media professional. Recently, he worked for the prime minister’s office helping them improve their digital media platforms. He got married in 2020 and he and his wife plan to have their first child in two years. His life is firmly on track.

As of May 2020, HEI had partnered with 28 universities and reached more than 1.2 million students since it started in 2009. In addition, it distributed more than 2.9 million male condoms and 54,000 cycles of oral contraceptives to university students.

The post The project helped me to graduate safely and with a clear goal in life; Amanuel first appeared on DKT Ethiopia.

At the age of six, her mother died and her father left her with relatives after he married and started a new family in Eritrea. Despite the setback, Selam graduated high school and did well on university entrance exams. But instead of pursuing her studies, she got married at age 18. She and her husband had one child, but the marriage did not go well: Her husband was a drunk, prone to jealous rages and did not provide for her financially, so they divorced.

Initially, the daughter lived with her ex-husband but eventually Selam got custody of the child. After her marriage ended, Selam, now 24, was forced to fend for herself. She found a job as a waitress in a hotel.

“The only job I could find without any training was a waitress,” she says. “However, I found that working as a waitress was difficult because of low pay which was not enough to cover my basic expenses. Friends in my workplace saw better economic gain doing sex work. Thus, I felt I had no choice but to try it.”

Selam meets clients at the hotel and sometimes arranges meetings by telephone. Before COVID, she was getting one or two clients per day but she had to stop working because of the lockdown. She has started working again but it is not like before; she gets only three clients per week.

Selam has many fears when meeting clients. The main one is getting infected with HIV, especially from those clients who do not want to use condoms. She is tested every three months and, so far, has tested negative. She is also afraid of physical abuse and even murder.

In the midst of a difficult life, DKT Ethiopia’s Wise-Up HIV prevention program has been one bright spot. Its drop-in centers provide rooms to rest in during the day, health services, video entertainment and laundry facilities. “Wise-Up is like my home,” she says.

“Wise-Up helps me minimize my daily expenditures and save money. Before COVID-19, I made 500-600 Ethiopian birr ($11-$14) per day but it was not possible to save anything. However, after joining Wise Up, I started to save money.”

Selam hopes to study accounting and finance in a college during the day while continuing to work at night. She has already applied to a college and is waiting for her entrance exam. Once she has a college degree, she will get a professional job or open her own small business.

She also hopes to marry again and have more children if she can find the right man. “I don’t want to repeat what I had before because he [her ex-husband] was a difficult person so if the case is like that, I prefer to take care of my daughter and remain single.”

The post A dream come true and the life of a CSW first appeared on DKT Ethiopia.

An 8-month pilot conducted at 52 health posts in four regions in 2016-17 suggests that L4HEWs have the ability to effectively provide LARC insertion and removal following intensive training.

The pilot, which included data from 702 clients who received LARCs from L4HEWs, showed that efforts should be taken to ensure site readiness and increase the capacity of L4HEWs, particularly regarding IUD insertion and removal.

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