Dhanak Health Care Centres set up by DKT are owned and managed by midwives. Through social franchising, in these centres long-term methods of contraceptives, such as IUDs are stressed upon, adding diversity to a method mix that is heavily dependent on short-term contraceptives. Most of the clinics opened nation-wide are renovations of existing clinics, however some of them are newly constructed. The experienced and professional midwives running these clinics also provide guidance and counselling to families about mother and child health care along with family planning.
The Dhanak programme is part of DKT Pakistan's social marketing effort to build contraception demand through mass media and non-traditional communications by improving the availability of reproductive health services through the community midwives who are the country's primary family planning and OBGYN health services providers. Social marketing and social franchising are focused on those rural areas of Pakistan where 65 percent of the people live and where there are few health care providers and outlets for modern contraception.
DKT has built 1,000 clinics to date in Pakistan providing an entrepreneurial model to more than 1,500 CMWs encouraging economical empowerment of women. Dhanak Health Care Centres are the only health facilities available in far flung rural areas providing mother & child healthcare. Dhanak Health Care Centre's objective is to promote reproductive health of women and healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies.
DKT Pakistan has identified and begun the steps necessary to reach Pakistani couples and more than six million women (24 percent of married women of reproductive age) with unmet needs for contraception, which will enable customers and health providers to have more choices for high quality products with regular access to family planning training and education.-PR