ABSTRACT
The social anthropologist’s primary methodological tool has been that of participant-observation. The South Pacific Alliance for Family Health’s project’s goal was to test the feasibility of instigating an effective Contraceptive Social Marketing programme before the social and economic problems associated with population pressure and AIDS make an indelible mark on the Kingdom of Tonga. Project Excel’s aim was to improve reproductive health across the South Pacific region through the implementation of contraceptive social marketing programmes in the regions ten member countries. The primary advantages of the pill were seen as protecting the mother’s health through child spacing and providing a more manageable family size and hence the capacity to provide for the family. The primary advantages of using the condom were seen firstly as protection against sexually transmitted diseases and, secondly, protecting the social and economic health of the family as a whole by preventing unwanted pregnancy.
