Are men well served by family planning programs?

Although the range of contraceptives includes methods for men, namely condoms, vasectomy and withdrawal thatmen use directly, and the Standard Days Method (SDM) that requires their participation, family planningprogramming has primarily focused on women. What is known about reaching men as contraceptive users? Thispaper draws from a review of 47 interventions that reached men and proposes 10 key considerations forstrengthening programming for men as contraceptive users. A review of programming shows that men and boysare not particularly well served by programs. Most programs operate from the perspective that women arecontraceptive users and that men should support their partners, with insufficient attention to reaching men ascontraceptive users in their own right. The notion that family planning is women’s business only is outdated. Thereis sufficient evidence demonstrating men’s desire for information and services, as well as men’s positive response toexisting programming to warrant further programming for men as FP users. The key considerations focus ongetting information and services where men and boys need it; addressing gender norms that affect men’s attitudesand use while respecting women’s autonomy; reaching adolescent boys; including men as users in policies andguidelines; scaling up successful programming; filling gaps with implementation research and monitoring &evaluation; and creating more contraceptive options for men. (Author abstract)