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Social Marketing in Senegal: CMS Program Results and Implications

The USAID mission in Senegal requested social marketing assistance from the CMS project and its local implementing agency ADEMAS to increase the supply of, and the demand for, reproductive health products and services through the private sector. Currently CMS/ADEMAS markets a subsidized brand of condoms, Protec; a subsidized brand of oral contraceptives, Securil; and is also investigating the possibility of launching a new contraceptive injectable. In order to gather the information needed to effectively market Protec and Securil, and to design a potential campaign for marketing an injectable contraceptive, CMS/ADEMAS conducted a nationally representative household survey of Senegalese men and women of reproductive age in the summer of 2002. The broad objectives of the study were to: Obtain population level indicators against which to measure the impact of the condom social marketing program in Senegal; gain a deeper understanding of current knowledge about oral contraceptives and injectables in order to create a more effective communication strategy; and identify potential market niches for private sector expansion. Figures on current family planning use indicate that programs to promote contraceptive use among the general population have been effective in Senegal. Interestingly, use of traditional methods has grown, with most of the increase accounted for by the practice of LAM and abstinence. However, this study found that the vast majority of married women still do not use any method of contraception.