Mixed-Methods Research in Tanzania to Inform a Total Market Approach for Condoms

Background: 

The family planning market in Tanzania is characterized by a high level of government and donor interventions. Recent assessments have highlighted the degree to which condom programs, in particular, rely on commodities donated by international actors. This increasing reliance on subsidies places the condom market’s sustainability in jeopardy and could threaten supply if donors make sudden programmatic changes. 

The use of a total market approach (TMA) can help address these concerns by using data to improve the targeting of free and subsidized commodities to create space for increased sales of sustainable, commercial condom brands without decreasing access. A TMA lens helps governments and donors to allocate their resources so that they complement rather than compete with private investments and assists commercial suppliers to identify opportunities to grow their market share, ultimately resulting in a more efficient, equitable, and sustainable market. 

SHOPS Plus in Tanzania is collaborating with the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MOHCDGEC) to implement a TMA for condoms. To that end, SHOPS Plus conducted a mixed-methods formative research study to inform a TMA for condoms in Tanzania.

Research questions:

• Qualitative research with male condom users: What motivates consumers’ condom selection choices? How do condom users value price, product location, and branding when obtaining a condom? 
• Quantitative survey of retail outlets: What is the availability, price, and market volume of condom brands across retail outlets that typically sell condoms in Tanzania?  

Methods:

To inform TMA implementation, SHOPS Plus conducted 16 FGDs with male condom users age 18-49 in Dar es Saalam, Mwanza, and Iringa. The FGD moderators asked participants about their experiences selecting condoms and the relative importance of brand attributes, product location, and product price. Moderators facilitated a willingness to pay activity in which participants simulated purchasing behavior and a group activity in which participants assessed relative differences in cost and quality perceptions of a variety of known condom brands.

In addition, SHOPS Plus conducted a survey of retail outlets in Dar es Salaam and nine administrative regions of Tanzania. The survey sampled 4,823 outlets including large and small shops (dukas), pharmacies and accredited drug dispensing outlets (ADDOs), pubs and bars, and grocery stores. The survey assessed brand availability and cost in each outlet. 

Together, these findings allowed stakeholders to re-examine condom pricing, branding, and distribution strategies in Tanzania. These data can be used inform and justify national TMA strategies for condoms in Tanzania, with the goal of achieving a more efficient, equitable, and sustainable condom market.

Status: Completed
Last updated: August 2020

Presentations:

• Tanzania Total Market Approach for Condoms: Mixed-Methods Research Results

Learn more about our work in Tanzania, family planning, and total market approach.

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