WASHINGTON, DC (May 15, 2019): DKT WomanCare Global, the global reproductive health marketing and product distribution platform for DKT International, and DKT International-Egypt/MENA have announced that they will participate in the Africa Health Exhibition 2019 at the Gallagher Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa, May 28-30, 2019, and sponsor a lecture by Dr. Eddie Mhlanga on the Essential Steps in Managing Obstetric Emergencies (ESMOE) protocol.

Dr. Mhlanga is the Provincial Specialist of Obstetrics and Gynecology for the Department of Health of Mpumalanga province, South Africa. He is also a member of the South African National Committee on the Confidential Enquiry of Maternal Death, and serves on the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Task Team on the Prevention of Unsafe Abortion. As the former director of Maternal, Child and Women’s Health for the Department of Health, Dr. Mhlanga was instrumental in helping implement the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act (1996). He continues as a practicing physician in South Africa.

DKT WomanCare is pleased to invite Dr. Mhlanga to present on how to reduce maternal mortality. “Many countries have not succeeded in meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reducing the maternal mortality ratio by 75 percent,” says Dr. Mhlanga. “Equipping health care providers with basic awareness and commonsense skills like the ESMOE protocol, and essential tools like the Ipas MVA, will dramatically help reduce maternal mortality going forward.”

Manual vacuum aspiration is a WHO- and FIGO-recommended technique for uterine evacuation; the low cost, simplicity and portability of which makes it an especially valuable reproductive health technology in developing countries. ESMOE is a medical education partnership with the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) to bring Essential Steps in Managing Obstetric Emergencies training to countries in Africa and beyond.

“Dr. Mhlanga is both a passionate advocate for safe abortion as well as a respected clinician who brings critical expertise and gravitas to women’s health issues in South Africa. He is a mentor and inspiration to physicians practicing family planning across the country,” says True Overholt, Marketing Director of DKT WomanCare. “His presence and perspective at this conference is tremendously important. We are also delighted to present DKT WomanCare to the thousands of attendees at this conference. It’s impossible to discuss healthcare in Africa without addressing family planning, so we hope everyone who doesn’t know us already will stop by booth #2.C30.”

DKT WomanCare Global provides products to DKT country-based programs as well as multi-lateral, governmental, commercial, and NGO partners. DKT WomanCare’s mission is to increase the number of public and private health providers who can access and utilize a wide range contraceptives and reproductive health technologies, including the Ipas Manual Vacuum Aspirator (MVA), medical abortion tablets, Levoplant, and IUDs. DKT is the exclusive global distributor and marketer of the Ipas MVA technology and the exclusive global distributor and marketer of the Levoplant, a 3 year, WHO-Prequalified contraceptive implant.

DKT-Egypt/MENA will be cosponsoring the DKT WomanCare Global booth. DKT Egypt/MENA opened its doors in 2004 to serve Egyptian couples and today serves more than 3,500 gynecologists and 8,000 pharmacies across Egypt. The program is also the launchpad for DKT’s expansion throughout the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region.

Chris Purdy, CEO of DKT International, says, “As the largest healthcare exposition in Africa, with companies from 39 countries participating, 18 scheduled conferences and numerous workshops, the Africa Health Exposition is an important venue for us to show not only what’s achievable on this continent in family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention, but also how it can be done cost efficiently and with maximum impact through social marketing.”

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Since 1989, DKT International’s core mission has been to provide safe and affordable options for family planning and HIV prevention through social marketing in 24 populous countries throughout Latin America, Africa, and Asia encompassing more than 63% of the world’s population. In 2018, DKT International averted 13 million unwanted pregnancies, 32K maternal deaths, and 10 million unsafe abortions – providing 45 million couple-years of protection through its products and services.