AID cooperative agreement no. 623-0474-A-00-1026-00 to Population Services International (PSI) to fund an AIDS prevention condom social marketing project in Burundi

The project, a follow-on to a 6-month pilot effort, aims to reach 100% of pharmaceutical wholesalers, 90% of pharmacies, 50% of bars and hotels, and 30% of other nontraditional outlets (food stores, kiosks, market stalls) in urban and commercial centers throughout the country, and to provide some 25,000 couple-years of protection by its second (and final) year. Major project activities will include a KAP marketing survey, expansion of Alchem"s retail outlet network, the integration of the project condom (with the brand name Prudence) into Alchem"s wholesale structure, extensive marketing efforts both traditional and nontraditional, an intensive monthly sales promotion program (which will include "Prudence Soirees" and local bar demonstrations), and expansion of Alchem"s sale force. It is expected that during the project period, Alchem will distribute some 4 million condoms, at a price within reach of the lowest income segment of Burundi"s population. The Burundian project will benefit substantially, particularly in the areas of promotion and marketing, from PSI"s successful experience in implementing a condom social marketing project in Zaire, as well as from the Burundian pilot. The project will buy South Korean source condoms, at a significantly lower price than U.S. condoms, thus (theoretically) enabling Alchem to maintain condom social marketing on its own when project support has ceased.