Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #105853

Sohail Agha, PhD and Mai Do, DrPH. International Health and Development, Tulane University, 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2200, New Orleans, LA 70112, 504-988-3543, sagha@tulane.edu

Objectives: To determine the extent to which social marketing projects have increased sustainable contraceptive provision by increasing commercial contraceptive availability to lower and middle income consumers.

Background: During the 1980s and the 1990s a global social marketing program developed partnerships with commercial manufacturers to market and supply contraceptive brands at prices affordable to lower and middle income consumers in 11 countries. Initial donor support in marketing and advertising to develop the commercial market was expected to lead to a sustainable supply of lower-priced contraceptives beyond the project period. Individual social marketing projects become sustainable when the costs of purchase, distribution and marketing of contraceptives were fully supported through cost recovery. However, no evaluation of this strategy has been conducted.

Methods: Data from nationally representative DHS surveys in six countries, including Dominican Republic and in Indonesia, Turkey, Zimbabwe, Morocco and Peru will be used to determine use of commercially supplied contraceptives before and after graduation by lower and middle income groups. Questions on source of method and brand are available in the DHS. Household asset information will be used to construct wealth quintiles.

Results: Initial investigation of 4 rounds of DHS data from the Dominican Republic shows that oral contraceptive use among lower and middle income groups was twice as rapid as that in upper income groups following the project becoming sustainable. Commercial supply of oral contraceptives increased from 17% to 74% during this period. Initial findings suggest that supply may have become sustainable in some countries.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will assess the degree to which strategies to increase sustainable contraceptive supply in developing countries were successful. This will increase their understanding of how to design more effective strategies to increase contraceptive supply.

Keywords: Sustainability, Family Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation