Ice Breaker Project: Social Marketing Innovation to Promote the Female Condom for Family Planning and HIV Prevention

Pregnancy in college-going single women is increasing in Eldoret Kenya with a large number being from adolescents 15-19 years of age. Unwanted pregnancies often lead to unsafe abortions as well as other negative maternal health outcomes. Only 36.2% of women and 52.9% of men between 20 and 24 used a condom during their last sexual intercourse in the past 12 months despite nationwide efforts to increase HIV awareness, widespread male condom distribution and common fears of unplanned pregnancy. This is partly due to; over reliance on the male condom which girls have little control over, inadequate power to demand condom use during sex; or shyness in purchasing, obtaining and using condoms. We will use the behavior change model of Motivation, Ability and Trigger (MAT) by BJ Fogg, to "nudge" college-going girls to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy and HIV infection by using female condoms. The female condom, coupled with HIV education puts the power and protection during sex in the hands of girls. The "Icebreaker" project will employ mixed bundling as a product strategy for female condoms by pairing them with a popular product in the target population to increase access and use. Our bold idea is to bundle the female condom with beauty care packages in salons frequented by young females near colleges. We will use a social entrepreneurship approach that will "nudge" young females to avert risky sex by not stigmatizing access to the female condom.