Making Smart the New Norm for Married Couples in Nepal

Photo credit: Mothers with their children in Nepal. © 2013 Valerie Caldas/ Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, Courtesy of Photoshare

After more than a year, Nepal’s “Smart Couple” family planning campaign is showing some promising results in reaching young couples and referring them to services.

The campaign uses a multi-channel approach, with high-quality content, such as its television and radio spots airing across Nepal. The campaign approach is to reposition family planning as the smart, healthy choice, inspiring couples to achieve success for themselves and their children while also being aspirational and instituting a brand that would be remembered nationally. In one TV spot, for example, the husband explains that they waited until the wife had finished her studies to have a family.

Research had shown that the word “smart” in Nepal implies being modern, technology savvy and interested in planning for the future. The campaign harnessed this understanding to rebrand modern family planning methods for newlywed couples and those within 1,000 days from the birth of a child.

HC3’s goal is to increase access to modern contraceptive use among couples across the country by encouraging couples to:

• Establish early FP behaviors to delay first birth
• Avoid unwanted postpartum pregnancy
• Space births successfully
• Encourage couples to know the facts about FP
• Encourage action immediately

The “savvy” approach continues to play out in many ways, including high engagement on Facebook.  On Valentine’s Day – February 14, 2016 – the campaign announced a contest asking couples to contribute to a Facebook page stating their agreement to commit to using family planning and uploading a photo of themselves. A staggering 2,400 submissions were received. Ten lucky couples were selected to receive a prize.

The latest Health COMpass Spotlight features this innovative and important campaign, and provides the reader with a “behind the scenes” glimpse at its development and implementation. HC3’s also has published a story describing the campaign and its preliminary results:

Family Planning among Nepal’s ‘Smart Couples’ by Health Communication Capacity Collaborative on Exposure

Since this campaign is ongoing, the Spotlight will continue to be updated as new materials are created and new impact results are reported.