Male Involvement in Family Planning in Muslem Communities in Wa Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

Background: The scarcity of resources in the face of rapid population growth and unlimited human wants has compelled countries the world over to take a positive stand in checking population growth before it outstrips resources. Also, addressing socio-cultural and religious beliefs surrounding family planning which seeks to control population has been a subject of debate for communities. The issue of family planning has triggered concerns amongst muslem populations regarding acceptability gap and effective use of modern contraceptives. With these varied concerns among the muslem population, some clerics are very cautious in discussing the subject while others have integrated the subject in their teachings by identifying knowledgeable religious leaders who offer religiously sound interpretations on family planning. Notwithstanding these challenges, available evidence on maternal health figures is alarming. According to WHO, over 818 million women of reproductive age from low / middle income countries have unmet need for family planning- they want to limit or space child birth but are not having access to effective contraceptives use. Each year, over 211 million women get pregnant and about one-third of these women end up in induced abortions. These have generated discussions on family planning in Muslem communities. This study therefore sought to find responses among males in Wa Municipality Muslem communities through these questions. Does Islam address family planning? Is contraceptives use permissible in by Islam?Methods: A cross section descriptive study of 120 muslem males in Wa Municipality was carried out from June to September, 2013. Contraceptive use was 24% among subjects.  The study identified Age, number of wives and educational level of respondents to be significant with contraceptive use (P<0.05). On the other hand, number of children did not show any significant difference with contraceptive use. The most frequently identified contraceptive method were condom, injectables and oral pills.Conclusion: The study identified perfect knowledge and awareness of contraceptives (100%) among subjects but a lag in uptake and non-approval (24% verses 75%).

Keywords: Religious beliefs, Linen sheath, Muslim, family planning, Wa, Ghana.