Our culture, our behaviour and our health: conspiracy of indifference

Clifford O. Odimegwu, University of the Witwatersrand
Christian Okemgbo, Obafemi Awolowo University
Saseendran Pallikadavath, University of Southampton

After the ICPD in 1994, reproductive health programmes respond to the ways in which socially constructed gender roles have shaped women's experiences of sexual and reproductive health. Men are seen as the root cause of the problem of women. Hence no serious attempt has been made to address men's peculiar sexual and reproductive health needs. This study was designed to examine how perceptions of socially constructed differences between men and women affects men's experience of their sexual and reproductive health in South Eastern region of Nigeria. Between April and July 2003, we conducted twenty focus group discussions, ten in-depth interviews and ten interviews with key community leaders in urban and rural areas of the region. Participants identified a number of masculine ideologies and how these affect their perceptions and behavioural patterns. They reported that though they face some health problems because of these ideologies, men should not be neglected in health care delivery.