OBJECTIVE
To reduce population growth and control the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

BACKGROUND
DKT International has been active in Vietnam since1993.

From 1993 to 1994, DKT International implemented a pilot social marketing project in 7 provinces under the authourity of the Ministry of Health (MOH) which later expanded to operate nationwide, now under the auspices of the National Committee for Population and Family Planning (NCPFP).

SCOPE
The project focuses on the social marketing of condoms and contraceptives as well as design and dissemination of educational and promotional materials dealing with family planning (FP), AIDS prevention, contraceptive use, and other public health issues.

MAIN ACTIVITIES
DKT does social marketing of two condom brands, Trust and OK and one brand of oral contraceptives (Choice).

DKT’s social marketing activities deal directly with Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) and supply issues, and assist the government programme by increasing the overall demand for contraceptives with particular emphasis on condoms and oral contraceptive.

Market research activities such as Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) surveys, tracking surveys, and brand awareness surveys were conducted.

MANAGEMENT FEATURES

Strategy

• Promote and distribute condoms to high-risk groups as part of a comprehensive effort to prevent AIDS.
• Design and disseminate educational and promotional materials dealing with FP, AIDS prevention, contraceptive use, and other public health issues.
• Conduct pre-and post-intervention research.

Capacity-Building

• Distribute condoms and contraceptives to pharmacies and shops makes the products widely available.

Mobilising Resources

• Carefully designed IEC materials.
• Mass media for advertising.

Managerial Leadership

• Organise and supervise pre-and post- intervention surveys and evaluation exercise.

EVALUATION FINDINGS

• Feedback from the public has been generally positive, but also controversial. Many people are uncomfortable with any form of advertisement for condoms, especially on television.
• Informal feedback from pharmacists and other shopkeepers who sell condoms indicate that embarassment is less of an issue than it was in the past. It has been partially resolved by men buying from male pharmacists and women buying from female pharmacists.