Chronicle Editor
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, [email protected]
VASECTOMY is one of the most effective contraceptive methods that exist, but only one in a thousand Zimbabwean men are willing to consider it.
The permanent contraception for men has the lowest uptake in the country, due to myths and misconceptions that surround it.
Zimbabwe has one of the highest contraception prevalence rates in Africa, but men seem to be reluctant to embrace vasectomy, which some experts say has no side effects compared to some methods that have altered women’s hormones for years.
Vasectomy is a surgical procedure for male sterilisation or permanent contraception.
It involves cutting or sealing the tubes that carry a man’s sperm to permanently prevent pregnancy. The procedure takes about 15 minutes and has a failure rate of approximately one man in 2 000.
While the procedure has been effective in other countries, Zimbabwean men think that it is equivalent to sterilisation and that it will affect their sexual performance and satisfaction.
They also fear that they will lose their manhood and their ability to have more children in the future.
The executive director of Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council, Farai Machinga, said more women were now opting for Tubal Ligation, a surgical procedure for female sterilisation that involves severing and tying the fallopian tubes, while men lag in terms of vasectomy.
“In Zimbabwe, you find that contraceptive or Family Planning preference is highly skewed towards the Pill at around 56 percent, followed by Implants and the injectable at 17 percent and 16 percent respectively,” said Machinga.
“We still have a challenge, especially around vasectomy. We are still at 0,001 percent, but if we are to talk about Tubal ligation, we are now at around 1,8 percent, so we are not sure what’s happening to the males.”
For Mlungisi Dube, the procedure is somewhat foreign as it threatens the role of men in society.
“In my language, sperms are called ubudoda and for me to agree to have that tube cut means I am in a way saying I no longer want to be a man. A man should be able to impregnate at any given time and I wonder what happens if I lose all my children and I want more when I have undergone such a permanent procedure,” he said.
“I know women may claim these other pills, injections and implants are affecting their hormones, but the truth is we cannot expect men to just have their tubes cut, it doesn’t sound right. What if I fail to have sex in the future and why should we be talking about such procedures when we can simply condomise,” asked Dube.
Renowned traditionalist and gynaecologist, Professor Solwayo Ngwenya, said vasectomy does not alter potency and reduces the burden of contraception on women.
“Vasectomy uptake is low among men. We encourage those men who have completed their families to consider having a vasectomy. A vasectomy does not alter the potency of men in bed. They will still continue to enjoy life but cannot make a lady pregnant.
“This will reduce the burden of having to take contraception on women. Some women may have adverse reactions or cannot take contraceptive pills due to medical reasons and here the men will be encouraged to step in and have a vasectomy. It has little or no side effects,” he said.
“The side effects could be a slight pain in the testicular area and bruising. It also has a low failure rate, being about 97 percent effective.
“Vasectomised men will continue to have their maleness, such as male voice, voice box and beard. Vasectomised men are not at any extra health risk than unvasectomised men.”
Albert Nyathi, the ZNFPC male motivator, said his role was also to encourage men to open up about contraceptives and take an active part in ensuring that family planning becomes a reality in communities.
He attributed the low uptake of vasectomy to myths that need addressing, as many men have an attitude against the method.
“Women are the ones who carry babies for nine months and we encourage that in family planning, males should consider their partners and listen to them.
“In this, we are not saying they shouldn’t have children but they should space their children considering socio-economic factors and the health of the woman. Spacing is an important factor in that regard and therefore when it comes to such issues there are many ways which are preventive measures and we have vasectomy as one of them,” he said.
“We will be doing campaigns and we hope to engage men on contraceptives so that they also come on board, they should be active partners and lessen the burden for women.”
Men’s Conference podcast founder Makhosi Sibanda said men might shy away from vasectomies due to concerns about their masculinity and the fear of the surgical procedure.
“There’s also this societal notion that contraception is primarily a woman’s responsibility, which contributes to the reluctance. Breaking down these stereotypes and fostering open conversations could help shift these perspectives.”
Sibanda said the most important things would be to break stereotypes and foster conversations around contraception in men.
Online Reporter