Reproductive health programs in Bangladesh have traditionally focused intensively on women. The hallmark of the country's population program has been the use of community-based female workers to provide contraceptive information and methods to women in their homes. Historically, men have been construed in this program primarily as "gatekeepers," and outreach targeting men has been limited to areas where male opposition was perceived to significantly threaten the adoption of family planning. Rather than engaging men proactively, the program has sought to circumvent them. A new USAID-supported health and population program offers an opportunity to explore the strength and nature of men's demand for and involvement in reproductive health, and to identify potential interventions to improve men's roles. The emphasis is on clinic-based services, and door-to-door contraceptive distribution has been discontinued in the project sites. Requiring women to go out for services, and to incur added social, logistic, and direct costs, makes decision-making processes around reproductive health measures more complex. The discontinuation of domiciliary services also increases the need for men's involvement in physically accessing health care and contraceptive methods. This paper explores issues related to male involvement in reproductive health, in the context of a new service delivery model, in a setting where gender and reproductive norms are rapidly evolving. It also considers programmatic implications of the findings and the ways in which program strategies are beginning to adapt to, and foster, new gender norms around reproductive health.
Learning Objectives: 1. Understand the history of men's involvement with family planning programs in Bangladesh 2. Assess the strength and nature of men's demand for and involvement in reproductive health 3. Recognize the evolving gender norms in Bangladesh and learn how to incorporate them in program strategies
Keywords: Gender, Reproductive Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.