Families from various parts of the country who decided on vasectomy as the method of controlling births witness changes in their lives leading to soustanable development.
Vasectomy is a permanent contraception method for men, where, a surgical procedure is performed, cutting and sealing tubes that carry sperm from the testicles to the seminal vesicles making it impossible for a man to impregnate a woman.
Thomas Nzamuye, 47, father to 8 children and a resident of Gahunga Sector, Burera district says he decided on vasectomy after realizing that he was failing to provide with his children basic necessities that a parent should provide.
“It is a very hard decision in life that I took together with my lovely wife after realizing that we were giving birth to lot of children whom we should not manage to raise appropriately, ” he says
And, as it was a hard decision, he says it was necessary to first agree on the method with his wife. So agreement was signed.
“Together with my wife, we signed a contract before a nurse before I opted for a vasectomy as an alternative to help us stop producing kids we couldn’t take care of,” He adds with a smiling face
In a bid to releave their wives of stress resulting from contraceptive methods which they usually use, men from Rulindo District formed an association which they named Turuhure Abagore Bacu loosely translated as ‘Let us relieve our wives’, the association counts 45 active members.
Trough the association different messages calling for men to decide on vasectomy are given so as to relieve women.
“The association first helped me change the mind, we had given birth to seven children and had a will to keep producing a lot of children, so the association swept away that poor beliefs and I remained with that number of children, if kept giving births I would have more than ten children for the moment,” says Etienne Sebazungungu, 73, regretting “If I had known the vasectomy I wouldn’t have given birth to many children,”
Some roumors hinder vasectomy
Eventhough men who already opted for the vasectomy praise positive changes affiliated to the method, they say the community keeps presenting negative believes which brock more men from boast their involvement in the family planning process.
“Sometimes when we are in the public places like in the pub, some people laugh at us saying that we are longer the real men; they often say that our scrotums have been cut (…) so, it discourages our fellow men who may need to opt for vasectomy process,” Says Abel Ntakaziraho from Gahunga Sector.
However, experts in contraceptive methods issues vow that the vasectomy is consequency free whereby people who see the method in negative side should change mind.
Clement Ngarambe, the director of Kinihira Heath Centre in Rulindo District says, “Vasectomy way of birth control is a reliable method which has been searched on and approved by experts in health, moreover our government should not bring an initiative which harms its population’s health.”
Commenting on roumors on vasectomy which are in community, Minister of Health, Dr. Diane Gashumba says “If Family Planning services are to be offered in a more effective and sustainable manner, awareness programs need to be strengthened to prevent and address rumors about Family Planning that are circulating in communities.”
“Local leaders need to be the first examples; more trainings need to be offered to healthcare providers and Community Health Workers, taking into consideration cultural and religious values; more FP methods, especially pills, need to be found for men; and Family Planning services should be offered with other reproductive health services at facilities” she adds
According the Minister Gashumba, interest in integrating men into Family Planning services is an attempt to make services more accessible and efficient.
The minster say that through discussions with healthcare providers in the five regions Burera , Gakenke , Musanze , Gicumbi and Rulindo, the research team identified several suggestions for improving the process of integration in the future as the minister describes
Those suggestions generally fall into two main groups, “Improving the content and follow-up of trainings in FamilPlanning at different levels including healthcare providers, Community Health Workers, and couples” she says
“and taking into account the local context of service delivery to improve Family Planning services, especially for men, and setting up permanent Family Planning services involving men from the healthcare facility to the village.” The minister adds.
Findings of the fifth Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (2014-15 RDHS) show that Knowledge of at least one contraceptive method among women and men age 15-49 is nearly universal in Rwanda, the contraceptive methods most commonly used by married couples especial women are injectables (24 percent), the pills (8 percent), and implants (8 percent).
“Use of modern methods has increased from 45 percent in 2010 to 48percent in 2014-15.” as stipulated by the survey, clarifying that “The public health sector remains the major provider of contraceptive methods; 91 percent of modern contraceptive users obtain their contraception from a government source.˝ as the survey says.
The survey says, at 53 per cent, more than half of married women are using contraceptives, the majority of them using artificial method
