The impact of male contraception on global sexual and reproductive health and rights

Abstract

The right to health and other health-related human rights are legally binding commitments enshrined in international human rights instruments. While these positions are known and ratified by policy makers, little has been done to actualize men’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH) as an integral part of attaining these important global goals. Not addressing men’s SRH over and above supporting their female partners sustains the sexual and reproductive risks and burdens that women must bear. Advances in contraceptive technology with several male contraceptive candidates in advanced clinical trials bolsters expectations for a broader contraceptive method mix including greater choice of male contraceptives. This would potentially increase awareness and investments in the men’s SRH and promote health systems strengthening and gender equity including shared responsibility for prevention of pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV. This paper is a review and synthesis of published literature including research publications, reports, global policies and commitments and technical documents available online and in organizational repositories such as the World Health Organization (WHO) Institutional repository for information sharing (IRIS) on male contraception and men’s SRH. We provide insights on the impact of male contraception including novel methods and the spillover effects on global SRH. We call on all stakeholders to invest in men’s SRH since the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.7 on Universal access to SRH cannot be met without addressing this neglected topic.