Why family planning can no longer be a "women problem"
A nurse attends to a woman during a family planning session at a health clinic in Jos, Nigeria. Across 23 African countries, research shows men are treated as "supporters" rather than equal stakeholders in reproduction.
What you need to know:
- When couples have more children than they can afford, girls are pulled out of school first, perpetuating a cycle where women bear 90 pc of the contraceptive burden.
- It's time men stepped up to share family planning responsibilities equally, because when two people create life, two people should be involved in preventing it.
Picture this: A man who wouldn't dream of letting his wife handle all the household finances alone, or make major decisions about their children's education without his input, somehow believes family planning is entirely her responsibility. Absurd? Absolutely. Yet this is the reality across Kenya and beyond.
Yesterday, at the NXTHERSummit health masterclass, a man stood up and shared something that stopped me in my tracks: "Men in the maternity movement." Four simple words that carry the weight of a revolution we desperately need. The inaugural summit, convened by Nation Media Foundation in partnership with FP2030 to mark 30 years since the Beijing Declaration, brought together gender equality advocates from across the globe
Let me be blunt. While we've spent decades championing women's reproductive rights—and rightfully so—we've inadvertently allowed an entire gender to sidestep one of life's most fundamental responsibilities. Family planning has become synonymous with "women's work," as if conception requires only one person's participation.
The numbers from our own region tell a devastating story. In East Africa, fertility rates remain stubbornly high: 4.6 children per woman in Kenya, 5.4 in Tanzania, and 6.2 in Uganda. Male involvement in family planning services languishes at just 40 per cent in Uganda. Across sub-Saharan Africa, nearly one in four married women have an unmet need for family planning.
When researchers studied this across 23 African countries, they found that most studies still framed men merely as "supporters" of women's contraceptive use, rather than equal stakeholders. We've created a system where half the population bears 90 per cent of the contraceptive burden.
Ripple effect
Studies show that most men believe they share equal responsibility with their female partners for contraception decisions. Yet when action is required, where are they? When the clinic visit happens, who goes? When side effects occur, who suffers?
The ripple effects devastate generations. Every time a man shrugs off family planning as "her responsibility," he perpetuates a cycle that destroys families and communities. When couples have more children than they can afford to educate, the girl child suffers first. She's pulled out of school while her brothers continue their education. She grows up without comprehensive sex education, making her vulnerable to early marriage.
I've covered this story repeatedly. A promising 15-year-old in Kibra who abandoned her medical dreams to care for siblings her parents couldn't afford to raise, among other similar narratives.
This isn't just about fairness—it's about survival. When women can't control their fertility, they can't participate fully in economic activities, pursue education, or contribute to their communities' development.
Yet when African countries implemented targeted interventions, results were remarkable. In Tanzania, involving men by inviting them to family planning clinics achieved a 71 per cent attendance rate among men accompanying their wives. Kenya's introduction of male-only clinics and targeted media campaigns successfully increased male participation.
These successes prove that men will engage when given proper opportunities. The desire exists—we just haven't created the cultural infrastructure to support it.
But barriers remain real. Research across Eastern Uganda reveals that men avoid family planning due to cultural beliefs, misconceptions about side effects, and conspiracy theories surrounding contraceptive methods.
Here's what strikes me about the men who do step up: they understand that true partnership means sharing all responsibilities, not just the convenient ones. They recognize that when it comes to creating life, two people are involved—so why should only one person carry the weight of preventing it? These men don't see family planning as taking something away from their relationship; they see it as strengthening it.
Your partner shouldn't endure hormonal changes, painful syringes, or surgical procedures alone while you remain uninvolved. Your daughters shouldn't grow up believing that managing reproduction is solely their burden.
Vasectomy is safer, less invasive, and less expensive than female sterilisation. Condoms remain among the most effective dual-purpose contraceptives.
Contraceptive decisions
Family planning must become as much a man's responsibility as protecting his family. The "Men in the maternity movement" initiative represents this shift—men actively engaging in reproductive health discussions, supporting partners through contraceptive decisions, and taking ownership of outcomes.
When we allow family planning to remain primarily women's responsibility, we perpetuate gender inequality. We signal that men's comfort matters more than women's health.
Change starts with individual choices but grows through collective action. Every man who accompanies his partner to appointments, every father who discusses contraception with his sons, every policymaker who allocates resources for male reproductive health contributes to dismantling this inequitable system.
The next time you hear someone say family planning is a woman's issue, challenge them. Family planning is human planning. It's time we all started acting like it.
