1999

The Female Condom in Zimbabwe:
The Interplay of Research, Advocacy, and Government Action

Marketing the Female Condom

A USAID-funded social marketing program for the male condom has operated in Zimbabwe since the late 1980s. Under the auspices of the NAPC, in 1996 Population Services International (PSI) was chosen to implement a new program for the male condom with a focus on HIV/STI prevention, with support from both USAID and its British counterpart, the Department for International Development. Aware of the intense interest in and lobbying for the female condom, PSI proposed incorporating the device into its program, to which the donors and the NACP agreed.

As part of program activities, PSI formed a social marketing advisory group (SMAG) composed of important stakeholders, including women’s groups, the press, university departments, government health agencies, donors, and commercial and distribution interests. SMAG members were consulted on a one-on-one basis where appropriate, and collectively to discuss market research issues and results.

Research conducted by PSI led to the following marketing considerations:

• Due to the stigma attached to the male condom, the female condom needed to be perceived as focused on a general theme of “caring,” as opposed to only HIV/STI prevention.
• Since the device would be more favorably viewed in a medical context, it should be placed in the health product section of retail outlets.
• The “clean,” hygienic aspect of the female condom was important to highlight and would help reduce the social stigma attached to condoms.
• An emphasis on family planning, as opposed to HIV/STI prevention, would help women with the negotiation process, by deflecting trust and fidelity issues.

Consultative sessions with focus groups and SMAG members led to the choice of care contraceptive sheath as the product’s name, consistent with the need to address the caring, family planning, and hygiene aspects, and to counter the stigma attached to the word “condom.” The final product positioning message became: “care contraceptive sheath is a hygiene product that provides a new choice in caring pleasure.” Decisions about packaging and merchandising design and placement supported this message. Donor subsidies made it possible for PSI to set an affordable price of Z$3 (US$.30) for a packet of two condoms.

Young shoppers in a grocery store in Harare, Zimbabwe, learn about the female condom from a field promoter.

Promotional activities included a massive training initiative directed at the medical profession to dispel myths about the product, distribute information, and reinforce the marketing message (for example, that the device be referred to as the care contraceptive sheath, not the “female condom”). Pharmacists, pharmacy staff, public clinic staff, dispensing doctors and nurses, and wholesale pharmaceutical distributors were visited on their premises, educated about the product and given such promotional materials as posters, brochures, flip charts, and fact sheets. An advertising campaign focused on print media but also included radio advertisements in all major languages.

In the first three months, sales of the sheath exceeded the annual sales projection of 80,000 condoms, requiring PSI to order extra stock. However, sales declined significantly after this introductory peak, dropping 53 percent from the first six-month sales period (July to December 1997) to the next (January to July 1998). This trend is very different from sales of the male condom in Zimbabwe, which have experienced steady growth since the product’s relaunch in January 1998. PSI believes that the leveling off of sales may be attributable to the end of the novelty trial phase after November 1997.

Overall, the social marketing project has had a significant impact in Zimbabwe by making the female condom available and relatively accessible, especially in the urban areas where most of the sales outlets are located. It has increased media information about the female condom in Zimbabwe and enhanced its understanding and acceptance by the public.

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This page updated on
19 Oct 2007