Cabbages & Condoms

LINK: Social Innovation Conversations - The Condom King Takes on Public Health: Interview w/ Mechai Viravaidya

From Stanford Social Innovation Review's Social Innovation Conversations: "Remember when you were in high school and there was so much anxiety associated with talking about or obtaining condoms? Well imagine trying to eliminate the taboo associated with contraceptives for an entire country. Concerned with adequate family planning, some 40 years ago Mechai Viravaidya began doing just that in Thailand.

In this interview with host Sheela Sethuraman, Viravaidya describes how that effort gained him the title of "Condom King" and how he continued his public health work by founding the Population and Community Development Association (PDA). While many in Thailand mocked him by calling condoms "mechais," Viravaidya persevered and now Thailand's average family has 1.2 children instead of the 7 they did when he started." Listen to the interview