Kenyan men less involved in contraception-study

Kenyan men are less involved in contraception and family planning initiatives. This is according to the findings of ‘Form ni Gani’, a contraception movement in Kenya which engages young people on social issues.

In the 2019 report titled “Kenya in 2030: Young voices on Future Scenarios on Contraception”, the movement studied trends in Nairobi and Bungoma counties and derived that only one man out of ten would accompany his wife to the hospital for contraception.

It stated: “Male Involvement in contraception is very low… among the 20 women who came for contraception services during the month of May 2013: only 2 were accompanied by their husbands.”

“10 left their cards at the health center, and 2 asked for their cards to be written at the ante-natal clinic,” the report added.

That men consider contraception to be a female issue is a situation that the report attributed to several factors. On the list are various social beliefs and lapse on the stakeholders tasked with mobilising people for contraception.

“This is a trend that has been recorded in many other research studies identifying negative perceptions towards male involvement in Kenya as stemming from religious beliefs, cultural norms, myths, and male misconceptions surrounding contraception and reproductive health,” read the report in part.

However, the Kenyan society, known to be giving the male gender voice has equally been blamed for the disinterest by men.

The report also averred that unmarried women are not involved in contraception. And that they only get the urge for it once they have their first conception.

It highlighted the interest to explore various birth control mechanisms only increased as families grew bigger.

It stated: “Taking the case of married women across the country - there is a reported 15 per cent use of contraception methods, with this figure rising as the number of children increases: 61.4 per cent among those with 1 or 2 children; and 65.9 per cent among those with 3 or 4 children.”

Unsafe abortion

Meanwhile, the report painted a grimmer picture of huge government expenditure on the treatment of complications linked to unsafe abortions.

It pointed out that the national government is spending Sh500,000 on treating such complications; an amount which could be used to provide contraception for 50,000 people.

An instance is where the Government spent Sh500 million to treat unsafe abortion in 2016, according to the numbers provided by the report.

This has been mashed up with fatalities in cases of ‘treatment gone wrong’ where at least seven women succumb to the complications in a day.

“Kenya finds itself facing a maternal health crisis that has seen the country lose 7 women a day (2,600 annually) to unsafe abortions,” it revealed.

The ripples

The revelations come just a few days after the end of the International Conference on Population Development which took place at Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi.

During the Nairobi Summit, the debate on abortion came up pitting pro-life activists and religious leaders versus pro-abortion activists.

Just days before the summit, which was riddled by demonstrations, President Uhuru Kenyatta stated that the country would only tolerate discussions on other issues of maternal health, women empowerment, and abolishing FGM but not abortion and homosexuality.

“Next week, we have visitors here who will discuss varied topics. We shall agree on issues of fighting gender-based violence and FGM, but if they bring issues against our African culture then we shall not agree with them,” said President Uhuru, in State House, Nairobi, before the summit.

His deputy William Ruto also waded into the matter on November 11 as he addressed a gathering in Narok County.

"I hear there is propaganda spreading that the ICPD conference will be preaching abortion and homosexuality," Ruto said.

"I want to assure the country that we will not allow anything that goes against the spirit of our Constitution to happen."