Male Involvement in Family Planning in Pakistan: The Impact of Social Marketing

Ibrahim Hassan, Greenstar Social Marketing
Kerry Richter, Population Services International (PSI)

Though contraceptive prevalence increased steadily in Pakistan in recent years, the level of unmet need for family planning remains high. Besides poverty and lack of access to family planning methods/services, attention has also focused on the role of men in contraceptive decision-making, and men’s opposition to contraceptive use due to socio-cultural reasons. The literature concludes that increases in couple communication and men’s involvement in family planning would have a significant impact on contraceptive prevalence in Pakistan. This paper examines this issue using data from a recent survey of a nationally representative sample of men and women in Pakistan. The paper investigates the relationship between men’s attitudes, spousal communication about family planning and contraceptive use. It also examines the role of social marketing, in particular the Greenstar program, in increasing contraceptive prevalence. A multivariate analysis is presented in the form of a logistic regression model of contraceptive use.