Private Sector Contribution to Improving Health Outcomes in Fragile States: The Case of the Afghan Social Marketing Organization

ASMO has implemented USAID-supported social marketing programs for over a decade, and is now Afghanistan’s leading social marketing organization and largest private sector provider of many critical health products. Weakened by decades of conflict, Afghanistan is now rebuilding its public health systems. ASMO is complementing the government’s efforts by marketing six affordably priced and high quality health products: Asodagi condoms,
Khoshi combined oral contraceptive pills, Khoshi injectable contraceptives, Shefa oral rehydration solution (ORS), Abpakon household water treatment solution, and Taqwia Khon iron-folic acid tablets. ASMO distributes these health products through a network of over 4,000 wholesalers, pharmacies, and general stores to ensure that products are easily accessible by men and women across Afghanistan. SHOPS Plus analyzed data from the 2015 Afghanistan Demographic Health Survey and used established modeling tools to more fully understand ASMO’s contribution to health outcomes in Afghanistan. This brief presents those findings.