Now A Belly Tray Full Of Female Condoms

TechnoparkToday.com > Think of a hawker carrying a belly tray at a busy traffic junction, a bus station or in a cricket or soccer stadium and peddling not sweets and cookies, but female contraceptives, of all things!

India may not be ready for it now, but the innovative concept has already sparked huge interest in a number of countries, affirms Beatrijs Janssen, a healthcare expert from the Netherlands.

“I have already demonstrated it for promotion at conferences in several countries,” said Janssen. Being a woman, she knows the importance of female condoms to ward off not only unwanted pregnancies but also the menace of deadly HIV/AIDS.

Unsurprisingly, she has become the cynosure of hundreds of healthcare experts gathered at the ongoing first Global Health Conference on Social Marketing and Social Franchising, organised by HLFPPT, a not-for-profit trust promoted by the mini-Ratna public sector enterprise HLL Lifecare Ltd, here.

Janssen is the Communication Advisor to Universal Access to Female Condoms (UAFC), a joint programme launched in 2009 by four organisations (Oxfam Novib, Rutgers WPF, i+solutions and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs) with the aim to make female condoms accessible, affordable and available for all.

The Dutch health activist is serious about popularising the novel concept. To promote the idea and create awareness, she, along with other activists, has been working around the globe for the last four months, carrying the belly tray laden with a range of female condoms.

India can take pride in the fact that the contraceptives on the tray include the ones manufactured by HLL Lifecare Ltd.

“I am not sure about India, but it can soon be a reality as a marketing tool and way of selling condoms. We have to modify these trays as per the preferences of the local people,” Janssen said.

“We thought about this idea, just like the system of selling goodies at the football stands. The prime focus is to have mobility, instead of a stationary booth to sell the condoms. Another key focus is to remove the inhibitions about contraceptives. I understand that in India also, people are reluctant to ask for a contraceptive in a drug store,” she added.

At present, the belly tray is being used for promotions only. “But we are also thinking of making it a full-fledged tool to sell condoms at least in countries like Nigeria, Cameroon and Mozambique where we are actively working,” she divulged.

Under the UAFC, various organisations have already tried ingenious tools for marketing condoms. They have inducted female hair dressers to sell female condoms as African women spend lot of time for their hair-do. “There is no barrier of communication about condoms in a female beauty parlour,” she said.

About the response of the delegates at the conference, Janssen said it was exciting as the people were curious to learn about the products when they were displayed openly. “We do not promote any exclusive brand. The exercise is also being done to increase the awareness about the usefulness of female condoms,” she pointed out.

There is no sexist bias when it comes to promoting female condoms. “In fact, half of our volunteers are men. We have to make the men also aware of the utility of female condoms,” she said.

Initially, female condoms were viewed with skepticism by most international institutions and donor agencies. They perceived female condoms as a niche product (to be distributed to sex workers only); they expected it not to be accepted as a family planning or protection method for all, and very often did not integrate them in their policies and budgets, Janssen pointed out.

So, watch your favourite soccer or cricket star perform in the stadium and in between buy a pack of condoms. Hopefully, there will be many takers when the hawker, with a belly tray slung across his/her shoulder, starts selling female contraceptives in a public place. The best part is the buyers will be shedding their inhibition in the process.