Engaging Men in Women's Empowerment

Empowering women through access to family planning means that mothers and infants are healthier, families are more financially stable, and communities are stronger. Although family planning has traditionally been a gender-based issue, it’s not too hard to realize why improving access to women’s health care, especially reproductive health care, is in everyone’s interest. That is why UNFPA has become a strong proponent of engaging males in the family planning process.

“Real change and lasting solutions for empowering women and girls can be considerably enhanced by actively involving men and boys," noted Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, after two of its programs were recognized as effective mechanisms for enabling women’s empowerment. Central to empowering women, and helping their families more generally, is access to family planning services. Services giving women the ability to decide when and whether to have children allow individuals and couples to avoid unintended pregnancies and are key to reducing maternal mortality around the world.

Read the full story by Roger Nokes in the Interdependent