Increasing the Use of ORS and Zinc through the Private Sector

In April 2011, USAID Kenya invited SHOPS to conduct a Total Market Assessment of diarrhea management practices. The assessment focused on identifying opportunities available through the private health sector, to increase access to and use of the recommended diarrhea treatment (ORS and zinc) by caregivers of children under 5.

Scale-up Strategy for Essential Treatments in Children Under Five Years in Kenya is a plan to scale up education efforts to achieve more widespread use of ORS and zinc. The plan is implemented by a consortium of partners, coordinated by a technical working group that includes the Kenyan Ministry of Health, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), SHOPS, and Population Services International. The working group developed a retail product—co-packs of ORS and zinc—by working with a local manufacturer, Cosmos Pharmaceuticals. The product DTS-Z was distributed by COSMOS and a local pharmaceutical distributer, Philips Health Care. SHOPS led interventions to increase both the supply and the demand for the co-packs in the private sector market.

The marketing efforts targeted caregivers of children under 5 as well as retail outlets, chemists, and clinicians in private practice, using printed (generic) marketing materials and electronic media (radio and TV advertisements). These educational materials provided detailed information to caregivers on life-saving treatments for diarrhea; they also specified locations where products could be purchased in their community.

Source: USAID
Year: 2016