Help #ogilvychange promote safe sex in Madagascar

The third cause to gain support of the #ogilvychange team is the marine conservation social enterprise Blue Ventures. Blue Ventures requested help with improving the sexual health of the Vezo people of southwest Madagascar, as part of their integrated approach that combines voluntary family planning services with locally led sustainable fisheries and marine conservation initiatives. This holistic model is based on the recognition that the protection of the environment is dependent firstly on the well-being of the Vezo people who inhabit it.

Since Blue Ventures' health programme was launched in 2007, the proportion of women using contraceptives has increased from 10% to 55%. This means women are more able to take control of their bodies, choosing when and how many children they have. They are better able to care and provide for their children, engage in natural resource management, and strike a more sustainable balance with the marine environment.

Despite high levels of awareness about the importance of using condoms to protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like syphilis, condom use remains low: in a survey conducted last year, 88% of people said that condoms protect against STIs, yet only 15% reported using a condom the last time they had sex. Blue Ventures has done an excellent job of education around these issues, but there is a gap between knowledge and actual behaviour, which is why they needed #ogilvychange’s expertise in creatively applying the principles of behavioural science.

The #ogilvychange team has developed an action plan to build on the work already being done by Blue Ventures, which applies behavioural insights to make condoms a more normal part of young people’s sexual relationships in Madagascar. By incorporating their solutions into Blue Ventures’ existing programme activities, #ogilvychange has given them solutions that are easy to implement within their current budget, that activate all of their current resources for exposure and promotion, and that adds a new dimension to their existing sustainable fishing campaign – Vezo Aho.

Based on the barriers to condom use identified by Blue Ventures’ research and with insights from the #ogilvychange team, their solutions were designed to fulfil the following aims:

• To create a self-perpetuating social norm of young people using condoms
• To develop a strategy for young people to refuse sex without a condom
• To remove the barriers of price and availability

Highlights of the solutions developed by #ogilvychange:

I am Vezo
Blue Ventures' existing campaign, called 'Vezo Aho', meaning 'I am Vezo', uses the power of social identity to encourage Vezo communities to use sustainable fishing practices. #ogilvychange expressed the importance of harnessing the powerful message of the ‘I am Vezo’ campaign to promote safer sex as an act of protecting the community; every Vezo’s responsibility.

The #ogilvychange team developed plans for extending the ‘I am Vezo’ campaign to include communities making a public commitment to pledge to look after their bodies as well as their fishing heritage. Using the power of priming, #ogilvychange suggested creating an association between Vezo Aho, condom use, cleanliness and social responsibility. This could be done by offering information about condom use and making condoms available at communal washing areas, as well as offering condom holders with the Vezo Aho branding on them to reinforce the message.

Refusing sex without a condom
A campaign concept was developed to make it easier for boys to ask their friends for a condom if they are without one in order to entrench condom use as a healthy norm, and a parallel idea was developed for girls to become more comfortable refusing sex without a condom; with these campaigns being promoted through radio dramatisations, youth clubs and working with influential community members to start new trends.

The cost
Most important is for condoms to be readily available at an affordable price, so the #ogilvychange team put forward suggestions for a new pricing structure to sell hormonal pills and condoms together so that condoms are not seen as an optional extra, monthly subscription packages for condoms, and practical demonstrations of how to use condoms so that young people won’t feel they are wasting money on buying something they don’t know how to use.

Currently 98% of young Vezo people lose their virginity without using a condom. If this high percentage can be reduced over time, this will set new precedents for their sexual behaviour and they will be more likely to continue using them in the future.

How you can get involved:

Blue Ventures would love to benefit from your strategic marketing and communications support to help them to promote their expeditions to potential volunteers around the world.

The participation of international volunteers in Blue Ventures’ award-winning ecotourism expeditions supports their conservation work. The funds raised from these expeditions, and the practical contribution the volunteers make to the research and development of the conversation programmes, are an essential part of Blue Ventures' business model and have driven their successful growth over the last 10 years.

Blue Ventures is also looking to build their marketing expertise to drive the adoption of their innovative conservation models and develop relationships with new partners in order to scale up their impact.

If you would like to see the full presentation of #ogilvychange behaviour change solutions for Blue Ventures or discuss how you could help Blue Ventures with their marketing, please get in touch with Anna Mullenneaux, the Chief Match Maker of Pimp My Cause, by emailing [email protected].