Q. Would you introduce your self and your job to shaebia.org clients?

 

A. My name is Saad Ramadan Said; I started my career as a teacher, before joining the NUEYS (National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students), as a coordinator of a number of youth projects, then became a manager of NUEYS projects department as well as Planning and Human Resources Department, before joining ESMG.

 

I am the Project Direct of the Eritrean Social Marketing Group (ESMG), which is a national project implemented by NUEYS in partnership with the Ministry of Health (MoH). The project’s goal is to contribute to the efforts of MoH in the fight against the epidemic of HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Illnesses in particular and other communicable diseases such as malaria

 

Q. what are the main objectives and strategies of ESMG?

 

A. May be it is good start with defining the concept of Social marketing. Social Marketing is the application of commercial marketing principles (the four Ps (product, price, promotion and place)) to achieve social goals. So, while the business aims at making profits, social marketers use the same principles to achieve behavioral change.   

 

The objectives of the ESMG project are:

 

1- To distribute and sale affordable health products to ‘at risk’ low income segments of the Eritrean people. Currently, the project has one product which is Abusalama Latex Male Condoms; the choice of this product is driven by the then ascending and now descending rates of HIV/AIDS prevalence. 

 

2- To increase accessibility and availability of condoms and other health products among sexually active at ‘high risk’ groups.

 

3- To increase knowledge of, demand for, and use of health products.

 

4- To design and implement Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaigns to promote and bring about positive change in behavior.

 

5- Institutional development, capacity building and sustainability.

 

To implement these objectives ESMG employs a number of strategies:

 

1-      Well set up and systematically organized distribution and sells system, equipped with dedicated and trained staff.

 

2-      Behavior Change Communications (BCC), that makes use of health related behavioral theories and models. These theories and models provide us with clear understanding of the issues, and behaviors that we are trying to address. So, when we conduct our awareness raising and behavior change activities are guided by scientific principles and nor just guessing or aiming at unidentified targets.

 

 

3-      Operational Research, ESMG conducts regular operational research to link theory to practice. These researches provide ESMG with factual data and information to be used as baseline information for the subsequent evaluations of our programs and activities, for the segmentations of our target groups, and for developing targeted health messages. 

 

4-      Highly efficient support services e.g. administrative and financial.

These strategies are well interlinked and coordinated, making their combined effect more fruitful. 

 

Q. Would you mention the activities and mechanisms employed by ESMG?

 

A. ESMG undertakes a number of activities and programs in pursuance of its objectives; theses include:

 

- Male Condom distribution:

 

Condoms are purchased and tested for quality before being shipped to Eritrea and warehoused at ESMG. ESMG packs, stores, and distributes them to over seven thousand commercial outlets which include shops, rural drug vendors, pharmacies, restaurants, bars, hotels, kiosks and vending machines. Outlets owners are educated by trained sales staff on how to store and display the product and communicate to consumers. Condoms are considered as medicines here in Eritrea and as such they are not prescribed to every body, though every body is made aware of their function and made available, accessible, and affordable, the concern was and still about saving precious lives endangered by HIV/AIDS in particular. Societal acceptance of this strategy was crucial for its success, and today every one agrees that the strategy has paid off due to the ever declining rates of HIV/AIDS, together with awareness raising strategies..

 

-  Behavior Change Communication (BCC):

 

This program component is based on the government’s strategy of winning through caring. Following the initial focus on general awareness raising messages, it was clear that awareness itself is not sufficient if not translated to behavior, and changing behaviors need changes in attitudes and building skills. Thus, BCC is about equipping target groups with specific skills to enable them to take actions to protect themselves. ESMG makes use of all media channels (TV, Radio, and Printed), to disseminate information and creatively designed health messages.

 

ESMG also makes use of its popular and innovative Mobile Video Units (MVUs), which attracts crowds, because it is designed to be educative, informative, and entertaining. It is audience centered approach. Participants are passive receivers of information, but they are allowed to interact, to take part in debating sessions, to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. Moreover, all this happens in a relaxed environment.

 

Music and Drama also play valuable role in spreading health messages, in a very interactive and participatory manner.

 

Outdoor advertising and distribution of educational and promotional materials is another key part of the BCC program component. Here, we are talking about billboards, posters, stickers, brochures, and many more.

 

Malaria communication is another successful program undertaken by ESMG, in close collaboration with the MoH. ESMG MVUs tour the towns and villages of Gash-Barka, Southern, Anseba and Northern Red Sea regions, which are the malarious regions in Eritrea. This is on top of the mass media, music and drama and outdoor programs. Eritrea today is a success model as far as fighting malaria is concerned, and we feel proud to be part of this achievement and contribute to it.

 

ESMG’s efforts come as part of the overall national action plans, which involve ministries, people living with HIV/AIDS, religious and donor communities, all under the dynamic leadership of the MoH.

 

ESMG’s BCC program is research based and need driven; it is planned and executed with the participation of target groups, which ensures their relevance and usefulness and maximizes their impact.

 

Monitoring and evaluation:

 

ESMG programs undergo a lot process before they are delivered; these processes are closely monitored, regularly evaluated so that timely corrections are made in case of any discrepancies. Field reports and researches are the main tools for monitoring and evaluation. In this respect ESMG regularly conducts Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices surveys, the findings of which are used to evaluate progress made on one hand and as baseline information on the other, educational events are evaluated through a tool known by event impact assessment.

 

All media products are also pre-tested before they are aired to secure cultural appropriateness, and health message relevancy to the target group. This, of course, on top of and in support of the regular researches conducted by the government such the Demographic Health Survey (DHS), and the ANC.

 

Audio – Visual productions

Successful communications are almost impossible without high quality materials both in form and content. Being conscious of this fact, ESMG produces its own quality and creative materials that are used through the mass media or by direct distribution.

 

By involving artist, script writers, producers, directors, journalists, consultants, etc, ESMG produces video and radio spots and clips, dramas, films, posters, brochures, booklets, and designs billboards and promotional materials. All is done with technical competent in house staff.

 

Q. how do you evaluate the impact of your activities during the past ten yours?

 

A. when we look at the situation of HIV/AIDS before ten years, in the year 1999and compare it to the situation in 2009, I think dramatic improvements have been recorded. By all measures the progress made is invaluable. It suffices to have a look at the prevalence rate which has fallen from 4.2% in 1999 to 1.3 % in 2007, awareness levels as high as 85% percent; reported condom use among sex workers was 87% in 2004, levels of youth abstaining from sex before marriage are on the increase, this is a national achievement to which ESMG made significant contributions.

 

So, the impact was great and the achievement was huge, but we need not to relax our efforts and more is needed, and this success is a motivating factor for more work.

 

 

Q. would you tell us the level of awareness of the society?

 

A. almost every body in Eritrea today can tell you what HIV/AIDS is, what its transmission modes are, and what the universal protection methods are. Today people are more open about sexual behaviors that lead to HIV/AIDS, societal stigma has been greatly reduced, and many people know about their HIV status and many of then act accordingly.

 

Therefore, not only awareness levels are high, but also behavioral and attitudinal changes are taking place as indicated by the high rates of service consumption, and above all the falling rates of HIV/AIDS prevalence.

 

Q. how do you check the quality of condoms?

 

A. the process of bringing condoms to the country is controlled by the government to secure both quality and proper handling. Condoms are acquired through international bidding, tested for qualities by international testing institution before they are allowed to come in; once they are in the country ESMG takes care of the rest. They are warehoused, repacked, in branded packs, distributed, and their expiration dates are monitored and withdrawn from the market before these dates are due to be dispose of via concerned government bodies. Recently a condom testing machine has been introduced and this will help in testing the quality of condoms when they are delivered or when they are circulated in the market.

 

Q. What are your priorities at the moment?

 

 A. we are continuously profiling the consumers of condoms so that distribution will be targeted to those who really need them, which are those at high risk and of low income segments of the society. Educational efforts will be further strengthened, with focus on small groups, such as commercial sex workers, because, such groups have already undergone a very painful behavior change process, that bringing them to normal life needs equally painful process of behavior. We do not intent to sit back and curse the ill behavior that endanger the whole society; we, will continue to monitor  their situation, provide services and work towards bringing lasting solution in collaboration with other partners.

 

Our young people also need continuous care, and education to adopt positive behaviors and to prevent them from going to harmful behaviors in the first place.  So, despite the success achieved, we have a long way to go if health seeking behaviors are to be the norm in our country.

 

Q. What are your future programs?

 

A. As a social marketing organization, ESMG has the potential to take more products and service on board, e.g. reproductive health products, water sanitation, nutrition and much more.

 

The know-how accumulated over years, the technical expertise, and the institutional capacities are assets that we would better utilize with more products and service.

 

In this respect there are discussions currently going on and agreements in principle have reached for ESMG to take up additional products and service, especially in the area of reproductive health.