Insights

Background and Purpose

Social marketing organizations (SMO) and programs make health products accessible through the private sector, and are critical components of a country’s health system. Through NPI EXPAND, two social marketing organizations, ONG Jigi, based in Mali, and ADEMAS, based in Senegal, are receiving grants in support of their implementation of national social marketing programs. Both organizations are working to promote and distribute a diversified range of health products and services, and seeking to improve sustainability and technical performance. Given the range of activities each organization implements and their geographical commonalities, these organizations face similar constraints in implementing their activities.

ONG Jigi and ADEMAS identified a need to address common issues they experience as SMOs in West Africa. One of the main constraints found was ensuring sustainability and scale of their organizations, due to funding mechanisms and the environment in which they operate being limited to the national scale. They also identified the need to improve income generation activities given that the donor environment for SMOs can be unpredictable. Finally, there are varying levels of collaboration with government counterparts that impacts both organizations’ program implementation.

As these shared challenges were identified, there was a clear opportunity for these organizations to share their best practices and explore possibilities for future partnership. In April 2021, representatives from ONG Jigi, ADEMAS, and NPI EXPAND met with a national Cote d’Ivoire SMO AIMAS to discuss these challenges during an exchange trip.  AIMAS was identified as a good potential “mentor” NGO because they have had a long term direct relationship with donors, and product suppliers while diversifying into a broader range of products and services. While AIMAS has made significant progress in reaching sustainable milestones, they still face common challenges in the West African operating environment as ADEMAS and ONG Jigi.

Given the similarities between these three organizations – their operating markets, social entrepreneurship activities, and a desire to implement sustainability strategies – the exchange visit provided a chance for the organizations to share learning and develop strategies to overcome these challenges together.

Activity Overview

During the planning phase for this exchange trip, NPI EXPAND worked with the three organizations to design a clear set of priorities in response to the aforementioned challenges. The main areas of focus for the exchange were on sustainability, funding, and improved government relations:

• Sustainability: The organizations shared ideas around how to maintain social marketing activities without relying on a single donor’s funding
• Funding: The organizations recognized an unpredictable donor environment impacting their work, necessitating the use of creative income generating activities.
• Improved government relations: There were common challenges identified across the organizations around policies in place that do not work in favor of social marketing activities, such as pricing regulations. Improving relationship with the government was recognized as a step in more effectively implementing social marketing activities.

Participants on this trip included key staff members who were primarily responsibility for each of the technical areas to be discussed, which encouraged knowledge sharing across counterparts within the organizations. A number of activities were held throughout the week in order to share best practices and facilitate conversation, including site visits, presentations, and small group discussions. Presentations from each organization explored their approaches to marketing, communication, and product mix, as well as an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of their various distribution tracking methods. During a trip to the AIMAS warehouse, participants were able to view first-hand the inventory and tracking systems in place and discuss their cost-effectiveness.

Given the identified issue of sustainable financing, the organizations also presented their resource mobilization plans and any income-generating activities they did outside of donor contributions. One such example came from ONG Jigi. One of their income generating activities is a microfinancing approach that has been in operation for over 15 years. ONG Jigi provides loans to women’s associations in various regions in order to finance small business activities. The income generating activity was first established in 1994 during the implementation of a project on Family Planning Promotion and Fight against Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS. The loans are then repaid with interest of 10% allowing Jigi to recover sufficient funds to independently cover its operational expenses for at least six months. By working with these associations, ONG Jigi is not only supporting women to take charge of their own health and contribute to local communities and businesses, but they are also generating income to support Jigi’s social marketing activities.

To continue the discussion of income generation, ADEMAS shared context on operating as a SMO in Senegal, specifically that they could not carry out commercial activities as a non-governmental organization. This regulation led to the creation of SCOOPS and BFAM, which serve as the private-sector arm of the organization. Products sold by SCOOPS and BFAM support and finance the implementation of ADEMAS’s strategic plan. This approach was shared as an example of an innovative way to financially maintain organizational functioning while operating within the financial operating environment of Senegal. While there are not the exact same regulations in other countries, this approach is one example of a sustainable innovation that could be adapted by other SMOs.

One of the objectives of this exchange trip was to explore ways in which other SMOs operating in similar environments navigate government relations. The organizations shared a desire to maintain a common advocacy agenda with governments and donors to ensure that social marketing is included as part of their countries’ total market approach to health. AIMAS detailed their relationship with the government to shed some light on how their strategy has bolstered their social marketing activities. In Cote d’Ivoire, the government invites AIMAS to participate in and provide input to social marketing activities, and provides support to AIMAS in implementation. For example, the national government provides free broadcast spots on the major national broadcaster for AIMAS to conduct social and behavior change communications activities.

Another important area for potential collaboration was pooled procurement.  AIMAS, unlike Jigi and ADEMAS, has been managing international tenders with quality assured suppliers of contraceptives for many years.  This has enabled them to develop strong relationships and obtain product discounts. Jigi and ADEMAS could potentially “piggy back” on AIMAS relationships to achieve greater economies of scale while ensuring reliable sources of supply for Jigi and ADEMAS. Another model involved partnerships with commercial suppliers such as Kersia who supplies Jigi and ADEMAS with chlorine tablets on credit.  AIMAS could enter into a similar partnership..

Outcomes

Bringing these organizations together laid the foundation for continued sharing of management tools and technical approaches for continuous improvement in social marketing, particularly for family planning/reproductive health and maternal/child health products and services.

There were a number of successes from this exchange trip beyond the wealth of knowledge shared throughout the week. A concrete outcome was a protocol signed by the three organizations that outlined the agreed-upon actions to be carried out jointly as a result of the trip. Additionally, the organizations agreed to pursue a joint technical assistance system to enable them to benefit from the skills and experience of their respective technical staff. While this system is still being further defined, it will likely take the form of an exchange platform via email, WhatsApp, or another forum to allow for continued discussion and exchanges. This will serve to localize technical assistance and promote specialized knowledge sharing across the organizations.

Next Steps

With all of the information shared and lessons learned throughout the exchange trip, the true success lies in consistent ongoing communication across the participating organizations. Facilitating dialogue virtually proves to be a challenge, particularly among a large group of participants. Creating more specialized groups of technical staff from each of the organizations would allow for more targeted outreach and information sharing. Some of the options such as pooled product procurement also require more research and negotiation. The continuity of the dialogue between the ADEMAS, ONG Jigi, and AIMAS will be essential in the sustainability of this exchange visit results and will bolster each organization’s outcomes.