In 2012, global family planning advocates set a lofty goal to reach 120 million additional women and girls and their partners who have unmet need for family planning (FP) by 2020. Their objective is to expand access to FP information, services, and supplies in 69 of the world’s poorest countries so that women and girls can decide for themselves whether, when, and how many children they want to have. Now at its midpoint, the FP2020 initiative seeks to embolden its strategic approach and engage new partners in order to meet that ambitious target.
One key group—men and adolescent boys—is spotlighted in the blog “Men and Contraception: A Necessary Disruption of the Status Quo,” co-written by Monica Kerrigan and Jonathan Stack. They write, “Men tend to neglect their own health, and the gender dynamic in many cultures means they are unaccustomed to thinking about how their actions affect their partners and children. Masculinity norms also make some men unsure about family planning. That’s why it is so critical to secure men’s engagement on this issue. When men are well informed, they can become active participants in the health and well-being of their partners and children.”
The blog “Men and Contraception: A Necessary Disruption of the Status Quo” was first posted on the Good Men Project website (08/11/16) and later re-posted in the Huffington Post(08/18/16).