The Half Love Campaign – Restors & Zinkid
An estimated 14,000 children under five die of
diarrhoea every year in Uganda. Research shows
that, if using the WHO-recommended combined
treatment of ORS and zink, 90% of diarrhoea
related deaths could be avoided. Uganda’s
Ministry of Health were among the first to join the
growing global commitment to eradicating such
deaths, with its national Child Survival Strategy
estimating that 8,500 annual deaths could be
prevented if increasing coverage of the
recommended treatment to 80%.
The Half Love Campaign
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July 2012 – June 2013
Targeting health service
provider and mothers and
caretakers of children under 5
Through TV, radio, print and
outdoor
Nationwide
In 8 languages
Research
Major barriers identified for the uptake of the combined treatment were the low
awareness of the zink component, and the further challenge presented by the
product being subject to medical prescription. In support of the MoH’s Child Survival
Strategy, UHMG developed the Half Love campaign to increase awareness of its own
brand product solution – Restors and Zinkid – amongst providers and caretakers, as
well as increasing product availability and visibility at service provision level. The
campaign specifically aimed to raise awareness of completing the combined
treatment method by playing on the theme of ‘half love’.
Advocacy
As a member of the Committee for Diarrhoea and Pneumonia Control and the
Technical Working Group on Medicines Procurement and Management, UHMG
influenced decision makers at policy level to deregulate Zinkid to an over-thecounter product, thus making it more easily accessible to customers.
Service Provision
The nationwide campaign was launched through mainstream media. At service
provision level, above the line efforts were supported through CMEs, product
detailing and POS were produced and distributed including posters, brochures,
display racks, t-shirts, and prescription pads and pens.
“LivingGoods’ philosophy is very similar to that of UHMG as we both aim to improve the wellbeing of Ugandans
through the uptake of ‘good’ products at affordable prices. We benefit a lot from their campaigns promoting such
products and behaviour change as they complement our work in the communities. Zinkid was a new product that
we wanted to introduce in response to WHO recommendations, but it was really hard penetrating the market as
people are so used to treating diarrhoea with ORS alone. The UHMG campaign was a great help in raising
awareness of the importance of the combined treatment among our clients and, as a result, really boosted our
sales of the products.” Stella Ikila, Country Business Manager, LivingGoods
Reach
During the first quarter of the Half Love campaign, 8 million Ugandan adults were
exposed to Zinkid/Restors messages through mass media alone.
Impact
A comprehensive behaviour change survey revealed that nearly half of respondents
exposed had adopted the use of both products; a figure reflected in nationwide
UHMG retail audits. Pre-campaign distribution figures had Restors at 28.5% and
Zinkid at 31.1%. Peaking 3 months in to the campaign, 44% of outlets audited
stocked Restors and 51% stocked Zinkid. Retail stocking in clinics showed a similar
trend.
Highlights
As the first national campaign to focus on a drastic reduction in diarrhoea related
deaths, UHMG’s efforts were praised by President Bill Clinton during a visit to
promote the cause in 2012. In partnership with the Clinton Health Access Initiative,
UHMG played an instrumental role at policy level to successfully change regulations
in making Zinkid available over the counter. The deregulation came in to effect in
March 2013 – a key effort in terms of increasing accessibility of the life-saving drug
to Ugandan consumers.
“We now sell about 100 hundred sachets of Restors/Zinkid per
week; before it would be about 30. Some customers even ask for
the actual brand; before they wouldn’t know the exact name, now
they do. The reason we sell more, I think, is because people hear
about the product, that it works and so they ask for it. Also, it is
recommended form the health centre across the road. And you can
tell that people have heard and seen the adverts, because they
repeat the words, and they ask for Zinkid.”
Rashida Nalukwago, El-Shaddai Drug Shop, Luwero