Related
Whenever Lan brings up birth control with her husband, he simply replies, "You decide whatever method is most convenient."
However, he refuses to wear condoms, and prefers that his wife take the necessary action. Many Vietnamese men share the same mind-set as Khanh.
"Women give birth to children so of course they know how to avoid having babies," says Dinh Van Thanh, a father of two. Thanh believes that when it comes to child birth and birth control, these are women’s issues, not men’s.
According to the General Statistics Department, just 10.5 per cent of men last year participated in applying family planning methods. Just 10.1 per cent of people using contraceptive devices chose condoms, while 55.4 per cent chose intra-uterine devices and 13.2 per cent used birth control pills.
When it came to getting fixed, 5.8 per cent of women chose to have their tubes tied while just 1 per cent of men underwent a vasectomy.
"The low rate of men using contraceptive methods reflects the inequality between men and women when it comes to family planning," says Dr Duong Van Dat, head of the Reproductive Health Unit of the United Nations’ Fund for Population Activities in Viet Nam (UNFPA). "Yet many women suffer from the side-effects of contraceptives like intra-uterine devices. In these cases, condoms are the best solution."
However, the rate of men using condoms as a contraceptive method is still low (10.1 per cent), he added. Natural contraceptive methods (withdrawal or cycle observation), are less reliable but still account for a higher proportion than condom use at 13.2 per cent.
"I think men do not care about contraceptive methods because they do not bear the direct consequences of conceiving," says 35-year-old housewife Do Mai Ha, "Women are the first to experience health problems from giving birth to many children or getting abortions after unwanted pregnancies."
Another reason why men may feel uneasy using contraceptives, is that many are afraid of losing their sexual capability. "Condoms waste time and are bothersome, and vasectomy may cause dysfunction of the male sex organ," says one 40-year-old man, who refused to be named.
He says that he never use contraceptives for fear that they will affect his performance in the bedroom. Dat says that husbands and wives should share the responsibility when it comes to contraceptives, as much as they do in taking care of their children. The task should be shared as a sign of respect between spouses.
"It is unfair because most men looking to limit their number of children also refuse to apply contraceptive methods when needed," says Ngo Thi Tu, a reproductive health consultant from Ha Noi’s Hai Ba Trung District Family Healthcare Centre.
Viet Nam has one of the highest abortion rates per year (500,000 abortions annually), which is half the number of babies born annually in the country. Nearly a third of women getting abortions are teenagers.
A third of women who die as a result of conceiving or giving birth could be prevented if more effective contraceptive methods were applied. Dat says that the country needs to encourage men to participate in family planning, which should be incorporated in the school’s gender lessons.
"Male students should be educated about their responsibilities to girlfriends and future wives," he says, "Other public awareness programmes should target both men and women rather than just women as we have done so far." UNFPA has supported farmers’ associations in various localities throughout the country to promote public awareness on reproductive health and family planning methods directed at male farmers.
The same activities have been included in public awareness programmes of the Ministry of Health and other associations like the Farther Front, Women’s Association, Youth Union and Trade Union at all levels. According to the Ministry of Health, as many as 85 per cent of the budget for contraceptive methods in Viet Nam has been sponsored by international organisations, which will be cut in 2010, when Vietnam’s average income per capita is expected to reach US$1,000.
It is estimated that the country needs around $132 million to meet the demand for contraceptive devices from 2006 to 2015
This article first appeared on www.vietnamnews.vnanet.vn
Aug 5, 2008
| 0 Comment(s) |
sponsors
