Male involvement in Safe motherhood

Men are traditionally the decision-makers within Kenyan households and women''s access to and use of sexual and reproductive health services often depends upon their partner’s knowledge and decisions. Commonly referred to as “mwenye syndrome” in the coastal region meaning men own women and hence all the decisions depend on them including accessing safe motherhood services. Men play crucial role in contraceptive decision-making particularly in highly gender stratified populations like in the coastal region. When George Ouma a public health specialist realize the need to highlight the important role men can play he does a research in Kwale and Kilifi counties in Kenya where he had worked for many years to provide evidence for male involvement in safe motherhood programs. The concept of male involvement cannot be viewed only through the lens of sexual and reproductive health; it must extend to the broader context – including economic empowerment financial decision-making within the household nutrition to education