Contraception accessible in poorer nations

Condoms, available for less than 2 U.S. cents in the Congo and Ethiopia, are making safe sex more accessible in developing countries, a non-profit group says.

Since 1989, the non-profit organization DKT International in Washington has promoted family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention via social marketing in the developing world.

Christopher H. Purdy, executive vice president of DKT International, said not so long ago, modern family planning methods were not available at all in some developing countries, but today DKT is the source of contraception for an estimated 50 percent of all Ethiopian couples using modern family planning methods.

In 2011, DKT International provided and sold 650 million condoms, more than 72 million cycles of oral contraceptives and more than 14 million injectable contraceptives, 1 million IUDs and 12 million misoprostol pills in the 18 countries it serves, Purdy said.

Today, DKT is one of the largest private provider of reproductive health products and services in the developing world in Latin America, Africa and Asia, Purdy added.

"With more than 99 percent of the DKT staff based in the countries they serve, we are uniquely able to use a product and service delivery model that continually evolves based on community need and that incorporates relevant and innovative tactics, to make a profound impact on people's lives," Purdy said in a statement.

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WASHINGTON, April 10 (UPI)