Involving Men in Contraception Programming in Conflict Settings

Location:

Introduction:

In the Oure Cassoni camp of Amdjarass, the IRCInternational Rescue Committee-supported health center serves a total population of 46,000, including a host population of 20,000. Despite service availability and community mobilization activities in the camp, low acceptance of contraceptive methods posed a real challenge, particularly due to the influence of religious leaders on women’s decision-making and health-seeking behaviors.

Project Description:

The IRCInternational Rescue Committee identified 40 influential religious leaders to attend awareness-raising and training sessions. The sessions presented the importance of contraception and, quite critically, addressed its advantages within the broader context of maternal and child health in Chad. The President’s endorsement of reproductive health and contraception and references of supportive religious passages were reiterated throughout the trainings. A committee of religious leaders in support of contraception was formed to begin community sensitization efforts in mosques and to participate in data analysis meetings.

Results:

In Amdjarass, 316 clients accepted contraception during the project’s reporting period, exceeding the target and surpassing the achievement during the previous semester, when 180 clients accepted contraception. This performance is largely explained by religious leaders’ involvement in contraception sensitizations, especially at mosques, and the permanence of one trained IRCInternational Rescue Committee staff at the Ouré Cassoni health post to ensure service provision and capacity building of existing refugee staff. Before mobilization efforts took place, the IRCInternational Rescue Committee saw an average of 20 new acceptors per month, with an average of 8 acceptors of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). After trainings of religious leaders and subsequent community sensitization efforts, the IRCInternational Rescue Committee saw an average of 33 new acceptors, with an average of 17 acceptors of methods of LARCLong-acting reversible contraception.

Lessons Learned:

Religious leaders are often considered as a barrier to contraception in humanitarian contexts. Yet even in a context considered traditional and religious, contraception is accepted once people are well informed and quality services are in place. The perception of religious community beliefs as barriers is never an excuse to not offer contraceptive services during emergencies. However, more sensitization is needed to expand access for vulnerable groups as contraceptive use among adolescents girls and unwed women is still taboo.