In the West African nation of Niger, where much of the society follows strict Muslim codes of conduct, sex education has long been taboo. These days, thanks to a proactive, local NGO called Animas-Sutura, health and sex awareness are getting a new voice.

Animas-Sutura took Niger by storm in 2006, with a large-scale effort to educate women, young people and other at-risk sectors of the population through social marketing techniques. The organization makes health products like condoms, contraceptives, water purification tablets and mosquito nets readily available and affordable. Over the last three years, Animas-Sutura has swelled supplies of these life-saving goods at more than 3000 truck stops, pharmacies, hair salons, bars, market stalls, street vendors and taxis. At many locations, ‘Anti-AIDS Kiosks’ provide education as well as contraception.

Having focused their initial efforts on urban areas, where high-risk behaviors are more common, the project is now targeting the rural areas. According to the German HIV Practice Collection, which as been studying the association’s social marketing efforts, Animas-Sutura is in the process of extending its distribution network into an additional six rural regions, training femmes relais ['trustworthy women'] to demonstrate and sell its products [and] testing a mobile unit to provide rural villages with services.

Electricity is scarce in rural Niger; literacy levels are low; and skepticism is high. Still, Animas-Sutura’s social marketing techniques seem to be working. National wrestling champion Balla Harouna and other notable public figures have recently appeared in ads endorsing condoms and healthy living, and the group has produced short radio programs dramatizing high-risk situations and the benefits of healthy behavior. The programs have aired approximately 8000 times and were integrated into classroom discussions, with over 200,000 children participating.

Animas-Sutura’s latest goal is to impact Niger’s most hard-to-reach population – women – and the group is training female leaders to conduct discussions, sell products and provide support in the community. If Niger was looking for a turning point in the HIV crisis, this could be it.