ESWATINI SELECTED FOR MALE CONTRACEPTIVE STUDY

MBABANE – In the past 50 years, there has been few changes in male contraception compared to the range of options available to women.

It has been revealed that Eswatini has been listed among the countries that will take part in a study and research for male contraceptive pills. Eswatini was listed among countries like Uganda, Mozambique and United States of America where the study initially took place. The news was shared on the World Health Organisation (WHO) website. The website mentioned that the study was going to take a period of four years before the pill for men could be approved or allowed in the market. Currently, men use condoms as a contraceptive, which acts as a barrier form of contraception that stops pregnancy and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections. “There are many ongoing research projects into different methods of male contraception. Researchers are optimistic that a safe, effective and reversible method of male contraception will eventually become a reality, although this is still several years away,” reads the report on WHO’s website.

According the report, the goal of hormonal contraception research is to find a way of temporarily blocking the effects of testosterone so the study mentions that, however, this needs to be achieved without lowering testosterone levels to such an extent that it triggers side effects, such as a loss of libido.

Hormone

“One way of doing this is by giving men a synthetic version of testosterone, together with a hormone called progestogen. Progestogens are synthetic versions of a female sexual hormone often found in female hormonal contraceptives, such as the progestogen-only pill,” reads the report in part. This approach was said to make males stop producing testosterone which, in most cases, prevented normal hormone production. However, at the same time it keeps the amount of testosterone in the blood normal, preventing side effects. Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi, when asked about this, said she would look into the study as her team was no aware of it. “None of my team is familiar with this kind of report; we would need to check further,” said the minister.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health Principal Secretary, Dr Simon Zwane, said the proposed study was a good idea. “It will be exciting to implement this study and learn from it. You know that in our society males play a crucial role in decision-making and their acceptance or rejection of such interventions has effects on the overall picture,”said Zwane during an interview.
The last three decades have seen a significant move in Western society away from traditional gender roles. Family planning researchers and service providers have focused almost exclusively on women. Scientific research is being undertaken to develop a hormonal contraceptive for men. During random interviews, most men said they were not for the idea of taking contraceptives and said it was something for women. The randomly interviewed men said they would never take the contraceptives should the study be approved and put in the market.

Effects

They cited permanent side effects and the possibility of losing fertility as their main fears. According to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation called ‘Men’s Role in Preventing Pregnancy, both men and women agreed that women felt more responsible for the children they bear than men did. Both men and women also said that women had the greater influence on a couple’s decision to have a child. The study further mentioned that at least one third of men and 35 per cent of women surveyed said that men felt left out when it came to birth control and contraception. In fact, more than half the men said they did not know much about contraceptive options, with one in five saying they knew little-to-nothing about the subject.

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