Social Marketing Company (aka SMC) is a Bangladeshi

non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

which offers education and products for

family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...

maternal ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestat ...

and

child health Pediatric nursing is part of the nursing profession, specifically revolving around the care of neonates and children up to adolescence. The word, ''pediatrics'', comes from the Greek words 'paedia' (child) and 'iatrike' (physician). 'Paediatrics' i ...

, and prevention of

sexually transmitted diseases Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral sex ...

(STD) and

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. It is the largest social marketing company in Bangladesh.

Early history

The Social Marketing Project was initiated in 1974 when AI.D./Washington, at the request of the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Con ...

, contracted for a two-year program to distribute non-clinical

contraceptive Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

s throughout the country. A sole-source contract was awarded to

Population Services International Population Services International (PSI) is a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit global health organization with programs targeting malaria, child survival, HIV, and reproductive health. PSI provides products, clinical services and behavior chan ...

(PSI), which then signed an agreement with the Government of Bangladesh establishing the activity as a parasternal one, with a project council serving as the board of directors. In 1990, it became a company governed by a board of directors made out of volunteers. AKM Shamsuddin was the founding managing director of the company.

Mohammad Mahbubuzzaman Mohammad Mahbubuzzaman was a Bangladeshi bureaucrat, Cabinet Secretary, and government minister. Early life Mahbubuzzaman was born on 25 November 1929 in Rajshahi, Rajshahi District, East Bengal, British India. He graduated from Rajshahi Lokna ...

was the founding chairman of the company. The council was chaired by the secretary of Health and Family Planning and contained representatives of the government, the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

, and the international non-profit sector. Social Marketing Company created SMC Enterprise Limited as a for profit venture in 2014. The SMC Enterprise Limited will distribute the products of Social Marketing Company funnel profits to the Social Marketing Company. It runs awareness programs on menstrual health. Toslim Uddin Khan was appointed acting Managing Director of Social Marketing Company in September 2022.

Board of Directors

Products

SMC markets a variety of non-clinical (oral pills- Femicon, Minicon, Norette-28,Femipil,Ovacon Gold, Mypil, SmartPill & SmartPill Light and condoms – Raja, HERO, Panther, Sensation,U&ME,Xtreme & Amore) and clinical (Injectable "SOMA-JECT" & Sayena Press) contraceptives. The

WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...

-formula based packaged oral rehydration salt brand marketed by SMC is ORSaline-N. SMC extended its line of oral rehydration salt by introducing BNF – based flavored ORS brand 'ORSaline Fruity' in August 2003. It produced 60 percent of the oral saline in the Bangladeshi market in 2008. In May 2008, SMC introduced a small sachet of

micronutrient Micronutrients are nutrient, essential dietary elements required by organisms in varying quantities throughout life to orchestrate a range of physiological functions to maintain health. Micronutrient requirements differ between organisms; for exam ...

powder, popularly known as 'Sprinkles", in the brand name of "MoniMix" to address childhood

Iron deficiency anemia Iron-deficiency anemia is anemia caused by a lack of iron. Anemia is defined as a decrease in the number of red blood cells or the amount of hemoglobin in the blood. When onset is slow, symptoms are often vague such as feeling tired, weak, shor ...

(IDA). It also started marketing

Zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

dispersible tablets in September 2008 to reduce the severity of

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

in children under 5. As part of its maternal and neonatal health programme, SMC launched Safe Delivery Kit branded as "Safety Kit" in 2008 to ensure clean child delivery at a household level.

Condoms (brand)

Sales network

More than 100 men-strong sales force of SMC distribute products to the far-flung stockist and retail outlets promptly and regularly. SMC covers more than 240,000 outlets each year directly through its sales network. In addition, numerous other retailers take supplies from the stockists.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Medical and health organisations based in Bangladesh 1974 establishments in Bangladesh Condom brands