Batela Lobi Na Yo Project, DRC

Batela Lobi Na Yo, meaning “Protect Your Future” in the language of Lingala, the local language in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The campaign was designed to inspire and inform young people on how to own their sexual health, and to provide them with new information that highlighted the existence—and efficacy—of contraception.

The program team used human-centered design to help them create messages and materials to reach adolescents. They learned that girls love expressing themselves and sharing their creativity with their peers; through that insight, the four “Power Poses” were born. Each represents a contraceptive method—condoms, injection, IUDs, and implants—with a particular stance that subtly references how and where these methods are used. The imagery was designed to represent “a girl like me,” so the team photographed local girls, not models, in specific stances as a means to further a personal connection to their accessibility and potential.

The campaign had national coverage, and of those reached, 20,000 teens had one-on-one conversations (many for the first time) about contraception. In terms of conversion, of the 5,000 teens that visited a clinic after engaging with the campaign, 75% adopted a contraceptive method which will hopefully lead to a reduction in unplanned pregnancies in Kinshasa.

Source: DKT International, IDEO

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019