WHO Pushes for Male Contraceptive Choices Amidst India's Shifting Demographics

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released new guidelines advocating for a broader range of contraceptive choices. For the first time, these guidelines establish benchmarks for a new generation of reversible male contraceptives, potentially offering men more options.

This announcement is timely for India, where fertility rates have dropped below the replacement level. Data from the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) for 2023-24 indicates a slight decrease in the unmet need for family planning among married women.

However, the NFHS-6 also reveals that the gender imbalance in contraceptive responsibility remains unchanged. Women are increasingly shouldering the burden for both temporary and permanent contraception methods. While overall use of contraceptive methods by married women aged 15-49 rose slightly to 69.1% in 2023-24, the proportion using modern methods declined.

Conversely, there was a significant increase in the use of traditional methods like rhythm and withdrawal. This trend might be influenced by concerns over side-effects, convenience, privacy, or a desire to avoid hormonal or invasive procedures, which disproportionately affect women. Female sterilization rates also saw a marginal decrease.

Male sterilization rates remain extremely low, showing only a minor increase from 0.3% in NFHS-5 to 0.5% in NFHS-6, contrasting sharply with the persistent high rates of female sterilization. This disparity has widened over three decades, with male sterilization falling significantly.

The WHO emphasizes that choice in contraception is a gender equality issue. India is encouraged to utilize these new guidelines to address the existing gender disparity in family planning responsibilities.