Madagascar: Revitalising a Social Marketing Programme

This paper refers to the lessons learned through the revitalisation of six social marketing projects and then focuses on a newer revitalisation effort in Madagascar to see whether the lessons learned earlier remain relevant.

An analysis of revitalisation efforts undertaken by Population Services International (PSI) in Bolivia, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, has shown that:

• Management needs to be in the country where the project takes place. Direction from outside the country, e.g., a distant headquarters or a regional office, results in slow decision-making and less effective management. Substantial local capacity building facilitates effective implementation.
• PSI's revitalising of Madagascar's social marketing programmes included the development and marketing of new health products like Sûr'Eau safe water solution and the revamping of existing products like Protector Plus condoms.

PSI used the Madagascar social marketing platform, including its national distribution network, to expand its range of socially marketed products and services:

• In 2000, in response to a cholera epidemic that followed a devastating cyclone, and with the support of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other international donors, PSI was able to launch, within three months, a home water treatment solution, Sûr'Eau.
• In 2000 PSI launched TOP Réseau, a pilot franchised network of adolescent-friendly reproductive health clinics based in the coastal town of Tamatave.
• In 2001 PSI launched Madagascar's first insecticide treated net, SuperMoustiquaire, to prevent malaria.
• In 2002 PSI Launched Cura7, a pre-packaged STI treatment kit. The kit contains correctly dosed antibiotics, clear instructions for use, AIDS to encourage partner referral for medical care, and condoms for use during and after treatment.

The report concluded that the changes to the programme resulted in much higher sales of the existing products, and also enabled PSI to use its established base to have a greater and more diverse health impact.