The Burkinabé Ministry of Health is implementing a community-based program to promote access to reproductive health services to men and women in 40 villages. A quasi-experimental design is being used. Eighty-four community-based agents have been selected to serve as liaisons between the clinical services and the communities in the experimental villages. They provide a range of reproductive health services, including the distribution of condoms. The impact of the intervention was assessed by regular panel surveys. A cohort of 2500 women and 2000 men were gathered in the 1996 baseline panel survey. The 1998 follow-up panel appraised the patterns of condom use among the cohort population. The findings showed that 10 percent of all family planning clients use condoms. This level of usage is high for a typical rural Sahelian community, and it would be informative to understand the mechanism and dynamics surrounding this behavior. In addition to these panels, a qualitative study has been conducted among men and women in the study impact area. This paper will answer the following questions: what are the determinants to condom use? What are the reasons for, and the obstacles to condom use for men and women? What is the role of gender? Are condoms being used within the marital relationship or outside? Who are the partners with whom the condoms are used for the first time? What is the impact of community workers on condom uptake? It is expected that lessons drawn from this experiment be used to inform national policymakers.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the presentation, the participant should be able to identify the barriers to overcome for expanding condom use in rural West Africa
Keywords: Reproductive Health, Family Planning
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.