Smart Jeewan Family Planning Messages Reach over 30,000 at Nepalese Fair

The Smart Jeewan Mela (Smart Life Fair) held on February 2 in Tulsipur Dang in Nepal drew a crowd of over 30,000 attendees who were entertained by performances centered around the Smart Jeewan program’s theme of family planning helps one live a smart life.

The Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3) Nepal team partnered with the Tulsipur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) to promote healthy families during the Midwestern Regional Commercial and Tourism Festival and Industrial Agricultural Fair 2017 in the District of Dang. The Smart Jeewan (Smart Life) campaign is implemented by the Ministry of Health’s National Health Education, Information and Communication Center (NHEICC) and Family Health Division, with support from HC3 in Nepal.

Netra Bhatta, Senior Program Specialist with USAID, attended the Smart Life Fair.

Dang District Health Office Chief Ghanashyam Pokharel expressed his support to the Smart Jeewan project in his district during the fair. Similarly, NHEICC Health Education Administrator Kunj Joshi, USAID Nepal Senior Program Specialist Netra Bhatta, and TCCI Chairman Bimal Rijal all reiterated the program’s key theme: “smart living” means planning one’s life and family and that use of family planning is a vital means to achieve this goal.

Bhadragol team in Smart Jeewan themed skit

Fair attendees watched a Smart Jeewan skit performed by popular actors from the TV comedy series Bhadragol. The skit was interspersed with musical performances by popular artists that illustrated how the use of family planning allows couples to plan for the right time to start their families. More than 160 couples and families attending the event received free family photos and materials that further explained the role and use of various family planning methods at different life stages of a couple.

Smart Jeewan project partners work with local health officials and private sector organizations to promote healthy families through the use of family planning among young married couples in 13 targeted districts throughout Nepal. In the district program alone, campaign community workers have directly contacted over 263,000 eligible couples and referred more than 51,000 couples for family planning services over the last two years.