Our Work in Haiti

The Abt Associates led-PSP-One project, through its implementing partner Population Services International (PSI), is currently implementing three different activities in Haiti, a country under duress from the various political upheavals it has experienced in years past. The project aims to decrease the number of HIV infections by increasing correct and consistent condom use, curtail maternal mortality and morbidity through increased contraceptive prevalence, and reduce the incidence of diarrheal disease with a safe water system.

Condom Social Marketing Project

Using community outreach, interpersonal communication, mass media, and effective condom distribution, PSP-One is taking strides to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in Haiti. The goal of this activity is to reach high-risk groups where abstinence or fidelity are unlikely (commercial sex workers (CSWs), clients of CSWs, and at risk adults between the ages of 25 and 49) by employing social marketing techniques that reduce the barriers to condom usage. To increase distribution and sales, PSP-One added 191 new sales outlets during the past year.

To promote interpersonal communication, PSI/Haiti developed the Condomania campaign, where promotional materials are distributed along-side educational presentations and peer educator sensitization activities. An integral component of the campaign is the referrals to clinic networks (including the Foundation for Reproductive Health and Family Education (FOSREF) and MARCH/Citymed) given to CSWs during events for STI treatment and other reproductive health matters.

While Condomania specifically targets CSWs, the mass media campaigns for both the Pante male condom and the Reyalite female condom are targeted towards the larger at risk adult population between the ages of 25 and 49, in addition to CSWs and their clients. The marketing campaign for the Pante male condom, carrying the slogan “Ou pa paka la” (“You must be there”), emphasizes that HIV status is not visibly apparent and that people often choose not to use condoms with partners they trust. A total of 4,303,821 Pante condoms were sold during the last year (July 2006 – June 2007), an increase of 45% from the previous year.

Reyalite female condoms are not only an alternative to male condoms, but are designed to imbue women with a sense of empowerment through the slogan, “C’est moi qui decide!” (“I’m the one to decide”). Historically in Haiti, female condoms have carried the stigma of a product used only by commercial sex workers. PSI/Haiti has decided to reposition the Reyalite condom as a product for all Haitian women that affords them the opportunity to take control of their reproductive health. In response to concerns of difficult usage, communications detailing ease of use are being used to reduce their trepidation. Sales of Reyalite during the last year (July 2006 – June 2007) reached 88,979 units, a 126% increase from the project in year 2.

Also vital to this portion of the project are training activities and outreach to CSWs and their clients. During the last year, 12 peer educators were trained, 330 peer education sessions were conducted reaching a total of 854 CSW and 398 clients, and the CSW curriculum was revised to include the topic of self-esteem. In addition, 10 special events were conducted and reached 194,000 individuals.

Family Planning Hormonal Social Marketing and Distribution Project

As previously stated, Haiti has one of the lowest contraceptive prevalence rates (22%¹) in the hemisphere. The family planning hormonal social marketing and distribution project will aid the Ministry of Health and Population to increase this rate. By doing so, the number of unplanned or unwanted pregnancies will decrease, thereby reducing maternal morbidity and mortality and improving the well-being of Haitian women.

In 1996, PSI/Haiti introduced Depo Provera ® and Duofem® under the Confiance ® and Pilplan ® brand names, respectively, to help alleviate the high number of unwanted or unplanned pregnancies. Through PSP-One, PSI/Haiti is working to ensure the sustainability of these products and expand their scope into other regions of the country. Instead of focusing mainly on urban areas, PSP-One will now look to ensure improved coverage of areas that have been identified as priority zones in the ongoing effort to reposition family planning led by the Ministry of Health and Population (MSPP) and supported by USAID as well as a number of NGO partners.

PSP-One continues to work through a network of NGOs to distribute Pilplan and Confiance at the community level. PSP-One is also providing training to NGO personnel, women’s groups, pharmacists and vendors in contraceptive technology, selected family planning counseling techniques, and hormonal method marketing.

During the past year, PSP-One completed a mass media campaign with posters for both Pilplan and Confiance, radio and television spots, and branded brochures and stickers. Promotional materials are being distributed by PSI field agents in all 10 Departments of Haiti, and the project recorded 272,792 sales of oral contraceptives (a 56 increase from the previous year).

Social Marketing and Community Based Distribution of the Safe Water System

After floods contaminated much of the water in Gonaives and Mapou, PSI/Haiti developed a point of use water treatment product called Dlonet, meaning “safe water” and “complete water” in Kreyol, in response to the emergency. The name was subsequently changed to the more accepted Dlo Lavi. Dlo Lavi is a dilute sodium hypochlorite solution that is used to treat clear but contaminated drinking water stored in the home. Following the product’s success in emergency situations, PSP-One is now making the product widely available to address the need for a safe water system (SWS) year round. It will be made available alongside PSI/Haiti’s oral rehydration salt (ORS) product, Sel Lavi. A limited quantity of Dlo Lavi will also be distributed free of charge to PLWHA as part of a palliative care package managed by partner NGOs in 5 zones across the country.

In addition to providing these products, PSP-One is working to educate the populace of the importance of clean drinking water, the effects of drinking unclean water, and available water purification options. These educational objectives will be met using mass media behavior change communication (BCC) activities in the greater Port-au-Prince area and in other priority areas identified in the USAID/Haiti strategic plan. PSP-One developed a campaign specific to the region to maximize effectiveness. Promotional and educational materials, radio, outdoor advertising, community mobilization activities in high-risk regions, and interpersonal communication interventions with local groups comprise the strategies being employed to create demand, raise awareness of diarrheal disease (particularly its effects among children under 5 years of age), and promote and increase the use of SWS.

During the last year, PSP-One completed a Dlo Lavi media campaign that included 3 radio spots, 3 television documentaries, and brochures. PSP-One facilitated SWS trainings in two schools in Torbeck (Dept. du Sud), reaching 17 students and 16 teachers, and also conducted SWS sensitization activities at the Radio Lumiere fair in Carrefour. In addition, PSP-One conducted SWS training for 20 Concern sales agents based in Port-au-Prince, and also conducted an additional 11 SWS trainings that reached 470 people.

PSP-One Country Programs: