PSI joined in January 2002 as a partner in the RFHI program with funding by USAID to John Snow Institute (JSI). The program aimed to increase access to and use of reproductive health (RH) services and PSI’s principal role became the social marketing of contraceptives and the development and execution of behavior change communication (BCC) activities.
PSI’s oral contraceptive brand “Coral 21” sold 428,333 cycles from 2002 to 2004 before distribution was discontinued when the private sector became more able to meet the demand.
PSI’s interpersonal communications (IPC) sessions titled “Among Us Women” reached nearly 200,000 factory women from 2002 to 2005.
The program improved media coverage of RH issues through a program entitled “A Daily Subject” from 2003 to 2004.
In 2005 PSI developed and filmed a six-part mini-series entitled “True Women” which was a huge success, as it was aired on national and regional television in 2006, won the Population Institute’s Global Media Award for best combined media effort on behalf of population, and became the basis for IPC activities with 2,615 women.
During the last year of the project PSI helped to create a network of local BCC groups for RH in 11 cities through managerial support and training in BCC methodologies which should help ensure the sustainability of the RFHI program.
The RFHI program has made important contributions to improving RH in Romania. High rates of abortion and low contraceptive prevalence in the early 1990’s have shown a steady improvement as the 1993, 1999, and 2004 Romanian Health Surveys have reported drops in the Total Abortion Rate (the number of abortions a women would have in her lifetime) from 3.4 to 2.2 to 0.8 as well as increases in the use of modern contraception from 10% to 23% to 34% of all women of reproductive age. PSI plans to continue supporting RH interventions through private sector collaboration.
Please click here to download a full report of PSI's contribution to RFHI.
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