Engaging Men as Clients, Supportive Companions and Champions of Change in Global Health
A growing body of evidence shows that underlying unequal power relations and gender norms shape both men’s and women’s sexual health outcomes and health-seeking behaviors. Men have traditionally been discouraged from seeking care for themselves and their families due to programs that target health services only towards women, and harmful gender norms that associate health-seeking with femininity or weakness. Yet men often control spending and decision-making in their homes, which can impede access to health information and services. Approaches to engage men can lead to improved rates of HIV testing, ART uptake and continuation, voluntary medical male circumcision, family planning (FP) uptake and continuation, antenatal care (ANC) attendance, facility births, equitable sharing of caregiving and household responsibilities, reduced rates of gender-based violence (GBV), promote healthy gender norms, and more.