Dr. Walter Mswaka is the newly appointed head of Social Enterprise at IPPF and visited FPA Sri Lanka from the 22^nd to 24^th November. The main objective of his tour was to study the Social Marketing Programme and look at the possibilities of sharing experiences of FPA Sri Lanka with the other Member Associations who are interested in implementing social enterprise programmes.

FPA Sri Lanka manages one of the best social marketing programmes in the IPPF family and it contributes nearly 80% of the organisational revenue which helps to provide uninterrupted services to clients even though there is a lack of donor funds. 

It markets several varieties of leading brands of contraceptives and lubricants through its island wide dealer network which comprises pharmacies, medical clinics, hospitals, groceries, etc. It continues to be the main non-state actor in reducing the barriers and improving access to contraceptives throughout the country. 

On the first day of his trip, Dr. Mswaka attended the learning workshop held at the Kingsbury Hotel, organized by FPA Sri Lanka which was on “Lessons learned from the recent emergency response on delivering Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Sexual and reproductive Health Services” with regards to the floods and landslides that occurred in the country. 

On the second day, he met with the Senior Management Team and the members of the National Council where the Executive Director, Mrs Thushara Agus, made a presentation on the history and the current status of the Social Marketing Programme and facilitated a discussion on how the SMP could be improved to meet future challenges and requirements. 

His field visits included meeting doctors who prescribe products marketed by FPA Sri Lanka and a few wholesale and retail pharmacies. In addition to these stopovers, he visited the Service Delivery Point in Koggala where he met the SDP manager, staff, doctors and clients. He also visited the Director of BOI – Koggala and the MAS Intimate factory located in the free trade zone.