Youth-Friendly Initiative Poised for Scale Up in India
In October 2007, the Abt Associates-led PSP-One project launched a pilot in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India designed to serve the unmet needs of married youth in gaining access to family planning (FP) products and services. The program, entitled ‘Saathiya’ (“trusted partner” in Hindi) works to improve the provision of FP methods and services while strengthening contraceptive seeking behaviors among lower-income married couples in partnership with four medical associations in Lucknow and multiple commercial pharmaceutical manufacturers.
In Lucknow, the program now consists of a larger than forecast network of Saathiya trained providers including: traditional doctors (Indigenous Systems of Medicine & Homeopath Providers), chemists, OB/Gyns, and general practitioners. The original target was a network with 350 providers trained on youth-friendly counseling and contraceptive technology; currently there are over 800 participating providers. The successful development of a large network supported by private sector partnerships has resulted in an attractive offering, a Saathiya product basket with a range of FP products including condoms, combined oral contraceptives and emergency contraceptives. New partnerships are currently in development with manufacturers of intrauterine devices, injectables, and pregnancy test kits.
A key Saathiya service component is a discreet helpline providing same-gender counseling for male and female callers as well as referrals to Saathiya network physicians and chemists. In 2009, helpline counselors referred 58 percent of callers to the network providers up to the date. The outreach and promotional initiatives in Lucknow have been varied and innovative to connect with the young target audience. Communication channels used range from conventional media such as radio, signage, and brochures to more country-specific interpersonal initiatives such as street theatre performances, Kitty parties (young married women get-togethers in a private home with a Saathiya doctor as a FP counselor), and two-way text messaging is being developed to connect with young people in this highly youth-relevant channel.
Another innovative feature is the Saathiya Health Card that provides a 5% discount from Saathiya chemist outlets for purchase of any FP or reproductive health (RH) product. The doctors in the network have also agreed to provide a 50% discount on their FP consultation fees for all clients in the target audience.
Community leaders and providers have expressed enthusiasm for the Saathiya initiative.
"I have seen many initiatives in the field of public health. Saathiya Youth-friendly Program is certainly one of the most innovative, and I urge my colleagues to support it.”
-Dr. Chandrawati, President, Lucknow Obstetrics and Gynecology Society
The program has generated many successes from both the service provider and the consumer perspective. One highlight is the success of the helpline which has counseled approximately 76,000 people to date. Impressed by the early results, USAID/India has requested an expansion. Currently, Saathiya is scaling up to a larger catchment area in Lucknow and in six additional cities in the Northern Indian, including Barabanki, Agra, Allahabad, and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Dehradun and Haridwar in Uttarakhand. The rollout is being staged in the months of March and April 2009. The scaled up project has achieved its goal to have 3,200 trained providers enrolled in the Saathiya network. Over 26 Memoranda of Understanding were signed in the past few months with new medical associations and private manufacturers to continue building the Saathiya network's depth and breadth in the scale up cities. The helpline has been upgraded as well. The hours have been expanded, phone and computer systems have been updated, and more staff has been added to serve the anticipated increased volume of callers. Creative materials for the communication campaign have been tested and refreshed to extend the campaign visually. The program has leveraged many direct-to-consumer channels, radio has been running in Lucknow, and TV is proposed to be added to the media mix for the expansion.
Overall the Saathiya Youth-friendly Network is making progress on its key objective to expand access and enhance the quality of contraceptive services for married youth, a few cities at a time. Dr. Namita Agrawal, of Life Care Hospital, and a leading OB/GYN of Lucknow relayed her experience and observation about Saathiya's contribution: “Since the launch of the Saathiya program we are seeing that many more young couples are coming and discussing their FP and RH issues.”
