EDITORIAL - The Ignored Role of Men in Fertility Awareness and Regulation in Africa

High fertility in rural sub-Saharan Africa still rea major challenge for the public health and development communities. The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo emphasised women's health and empowerment as necessary means to encouraging lower fertility and preventing unwanted births. While this agenda rightly acknowledges the need to improve the lot of women worldwide, the one-sided emphasis on women may be inadequate since women rarely make decisions or take action related to reproduction on their own. Men's involvement in programs and interventions to address the health consequences of high fertility and unsafe motherhood may be an important ingredient of reproductive health programs in rural Africa.