Men are key to improving family planning programmes

14 October 2008

Source: New Vision Kampala, by Diana Bateefu.

Reproductive health activities may better serve communities if men are more actively involved. All too often, however, men's limited involvement in activities related to the care of their wives and newborns, means that they are uninformed about many details concerning reproductive issues and childbearing.

Programmes need a better understanding of gender dynamics

To benefit both women and men, reproductive health programmes should be based on a better understanding of gender dynamics, the changing needs of individuals throughout their lives and their decision-making processes. While the female side of gender has been largely explored and documented, there are shortcomings in understanding gender from the male perspective.
At the same time, reproductive health programmes and services have traditionally served women and restricted men's participation. In cultures where men are often the major resource brokers and decision-makers, reproductive health activities may better serve women and men if men are more actively involved.

Men are often central to decisions about healthcare

In Africa, most reproductive health programmes focus exclusively on women. They carry disproportionate responsibility for reproductive health and receive the bulk of reproductive health education, including family planning information and gender dynamics. Men often hold decision-making power over matters as basic as sexual relations and when and whether to have a child or even seek healthcare.

We should revisit the way we portray male involvement

Focusing on the issue of male involvement in reproductive health is of paramount importance and programmes should incorporated it as one of their components. The existing programmes focus a negative premise - men's irresponsibility, rather than a positive one of promotion of men's rights.
The language of "male responsibility and involvement" has been criticised as judgmental. Given that the aim of programmes is to improve the reproductive health of both women and men, better programmes have to develop concrete strategies to understand and incorporate the male perspective and male needs in the same way as attention is given to women's perspectives and needs.

In order to avoid a shift in the focus of control, programmes should aim to incorporate adequate active male involvement. The understanding of male perspectives to reproductive health and sexuality is the starting step to set up services that respond to their needs. This will make for services that are both more culturally sensitive and cost-effective.