Analysis: Partners Sell Women’s Health
From soap to birth control, cash-strapped public health groups are partnering with private companies to sell women's health products.
The cooperation harnesses the vast resources of the private sector, the groups say, and a self-sustaining private market means products will still be available even if donor aid dries up. But others say the partnerships are more about profit than public health.
"Family planning needs are currently outstripping available resources," said Ruth Berg, director of the PSP-One Project, a group that helps USAID develop such public-private partnerships.
Public health groups need private companies "because of the resources the private sector can bring," she said Tuesday at the International Conference on Global Health…
Many countries already have private markets for women's health products, but only wealthier women purchase them. Aid-supported social marketing can be successful in encouraging women across all income groups to purchase their health products.
Covering Up!
Barbadians are protecting "their wicket" more than ever before. They spent nearly $2.5 million on condoms between 2004 and last year…
When presented with the statistics, Dr Carol Jacobs, chairperson of the National HIV/AIDS Commission, said she was delighted to see the increased usage. "Obviously people are taking heed of the prevention messages," she said.
Despite the increased use, Jacobs said the commission was nowhere near "the figures we should be. The surveys are telling us that not enough people are using condoms in some of the age groups, particularly over-25 pregnant women. That age group is telling us they are not happy using condoms consistently; so we still need to do a lot of social marketing on condoms."
$20m Health Ad Campaign Plan
…Meanwhile, a federal [Australia] Health Department spokeswoman confirmed a new advertising campaign was under development but said it should not be compared with other big-spending election year advertising.
She said concepts were being tested for advertising that would promote a healthy lifestyle to reduce the incidence of chronic disease among Australians, but said it would be co-funded by state and territory government health departments.
The Government has flagged development of a rolling national social marketing campaign that could run three or four years in the $1 billion Better Health Initiative to tackle chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes.
NACO Pilot Project to Popularise Female Condom
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO; India) has launched its pilot project from April this year introducing 'female condom' in six states for more effective control of the dreaded disease…
"The use of female condom can reduce unsafe sex to a greater extent as women can also protect themselves and take their own decisions," Ranjit said. Stating the programme has already yielded positive response, he said women have started getting benefits in the NACO project area in South 24 Parganas district. "The women-users describe the condom as more comfortable." The sex-workers, particularly, are happy as it reduces fear and risk, besides averting the possibility of loss of customers, Ranjit said.
…during the month of May CWRC had recorded 'social marketing' of 1163 units of the new contraceptive so far, the highest figure in the state in the period, among the flying female sex workers of the metropolis and its southern outskirts. "We have also got feedback that flying woman sex-workers are quite comfortable with the 'female condoms'," Ranjit said.
The project had been taken up following requests by the social activists for introducing such condoms among high risk groups, as many male partners did not like to use condoms on their own, Ranjit said.
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