Michu – revolutionising reproductive health in Ethiopia with cultural change

The promotion of reproductive health in Ethiopia represents one of the biggest challenges the country faces.  Around a quarter to a third of women and young girls in the country have unmet family planning needs.  Deaths from preventable pregnancy-related conditions, including from unsafe abortions, remain stubbornly high.  And all this despite the Ethiopian Government’s firm commitment to reproductive health care and the existence of some 30,000 clinics and health care centres focused on provision in this sector.

The University of Michigan’s Centre for International Reproductive Health Training believed a different approach was needed and that communication would be at the heart of solving the challenge.  They chose Impala as their communications partner with the task of revolutionising the culture in individual clinics to make them more welcoming to the women they seek to serve as well as be a more attractive environment for the clinicians and support staff that work within them.  Our remit ranged over the development of the Michu brand itself (Michu means “comfortable” in Amharic) to employeetraining materials and events, including the development of brand ambassadors.