Other States - Rajasthan   

Birth control still anathema for men

Special Correspondent

Merely 2.7 per cent males account for the total number of sterilisation in 2004-05

JAIPUR: Male participation in the country's birth control programme continues to be very negligible with only 2.7 per cent of the males accounting for the total number of persons who underwent sterilisation in 2004-05. The consolation perhaps is in the fact that from zero level in some States like Rajasthan till recently the number of male participants has picked up thanks to the newly introduced Chinese technique of non-scalpel vasectomy (NSV).

Though no State can escape the blame in this regard, the usual suspects, the BIMARU States (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh), along with four others (Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal) lead the pack in this grossly unfavourable male-female ratio in sterilization. If one takes the case of Rajasthan alone, of the 3,33,971 sterilization cases carried out in the State in 2004-05, the number of males was 8,761.

Curiously enough, Rajasthan's male participation at 3.8 per cent this year is higher than the national average of 2.7 per cent. Rajasthan registered a quantum jump from 0.5 per cent in 2003-04 to the present level with the districts such as Jhalawar, Bundi, Jaipur, Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh doing well in male participation. In Punjab, after remaining at 1 per cent in the past, the number of males who underwent sterilization jumped to 15 per cent.

The male participation in birth control programme in the country had become a major casualty after the coercive methods of sterilization adopted during the Emergency days. The fear of the male -- in most cases the earning member of the family -- losing his health is still a major reason behind the womenfolk volunteering for the job. Most of the States also do not have the manpower to conduct vasectomy adopting modern techniques, it is being pointed out.

"The States with the least male participation have been categorized as EAG (empowered action group) for special drive to popularize non scalpel vasectomy,'' M.S.Jayalakashmi, Deputy Commissioner in charge for the Family Planning cell with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. Dr. Jayalakshmi was here in connection with a workshop on Monday on NSV organized for the health professionals and select peoples representatives, which was also addressed by Rajasthan Health Minister Digamber Singh.

"The male participation is growing but very slowly," said Dr. Jayalakshmi, who attributed the increased male cooperation to NSV, first introduced in the country in 1997. In the year 2004 with the support of the UNFPA, NSV was made a national programme in India. The country presently has 2000 trained doctors in NSV while the target is to increase their number to 20,000 in future. `'It is a matter of gender equality. The men should share the responsibility of birth control,'' she said, pointing out that men should account for at least 50 per cent of the cases sterilized.

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