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Ecuador: Use Commercial Marketing To Increase Sustainability, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Many nongovernmental organizations sell contraceptives through retail outlets to generate income and expand access to these products. In 1998 Centro Médico de Orientación y Planifación Familiar (CEMOPLAF) employed 25 sales agents in 14 cities throughout Ecuador. These agents sold products, including contraceptive methods and home pregnancy tests, to pharmacies, physicians, other distributors, and nontraditional outlets. Contraceptive sales were CEMOPLAF’s largest source of revenue in 1997. Sales had grown rapidly during 1996–97, but CEMOPLAF managers did not know whether product sales were profitable. With support from the Population Council and Family Health International, CEMOPLAF made a detailed analysis of product sales …