Project Tsinjo
In Malagasy, “tsinjo” means to look to the future. Contraceptive use remains low in sub-Saharan Africa, including in Madagascar where 36% of women are using modern contraception and one quarter of women (24%) have an unmet need for family planning. Reducing unmet need for contraception significantly reduces the risk of maternal mortality in countries like Madagascar.
OSI recognized the importance of new approaches to address these unmet needs. Project Tsinjo was devised to test two novel insights:
First, individuals make health decisions based on available information. In countries like Madagascar, with limited access to digital information, in-person connections with kin, friends and acquaintances, not to mention health providers, play a crucial role. We hypothesized that the attitudes and support of people’s social networks would play an important role in a woman’s decisions around family planning.
Second, too few projects have explored the role of men in family planning decisions. In countries where men often play a gatekeeping role in accessing financial resources for health care, understanding how men impact family planning decisions is necessary.
In 2019, OSI launched the Tsinjo project in 27 villages in Madagascar. We interviewed 416 men and women about their social networks, family planning practices and the attitudes of their networks towards family planning. We found that having social supports is an important component of access to reproductive health. Isolated men and women, those who could not identify people they could rely on to discuss these topics, tended to have much lower access to these important health services.
Read OSI’s sponsored peer-reviewed publications from the Tsinjo project:
Social and provider networks and women’s contraceptive use: Evidence from Madagascar
Work like this fits into a broader context of social network research showing that programs seeking to provide equal access to health services can identify underserved individuals by exploring the social network dynamics within communities. This promises to be a new avenue for connecting with the hardest to reach communities to offer the health services we all deserve.
Projects like Tsinjo are ways that OSI contributes to improving global health care delivery with innovative strategies and dissemination of our findings. Consider helping support more projects like these by donating below, or get in touch to donate your time and help us continue our mission.
ARE YOU IN?
Donating is simple. All donations are tax-deductible.
Just click Here