Male Contraceptive Use and Patterns in Southern Africa

Karabo E. Mhele, North-West University, South Africa

Southern Africa has the highest HIV prevalence and unintended pregnancy rates. Male contraceptive-use is central to these problems as men engage in multiple partnerships which increases the risk of infection and influence women’s decision to use contraception. This study sought to determine levels of male contraceptive use and identify factors associated with its use. It used a weighted sample of 9301 sexually active males aged 15-54 from DHS datasets for four countries in Southern Africa. Multinomial regression was used to estimate the relative risk of method use. The results indicated that one-third of respondents was not using any method while majority were dependent on partner method. Both partner and male method were associated with age, residence, fertility preferences and discussing family planning. Partner method was associated mainly with the number of children, education and wealth index while male method was associated with marital status and number of sexual partners.