Men in Blantyre have been urged to get involved in Reproductive Health (RH) to promote the health of their wives and unborn children.
District Health Officer (DHO) for Blantyre, Dr Medson Matchaya, made the call on Thursday at a sensitisation meeting for District Executive Committee (DEC) members.
“Men have to be sensit ised about their role in RH issues so that they get fully involved in the programme for the promotion of good health of pregnant woman and the children they are expecting,” Matchaya said.
He said men had lagged behind in RH despite having a lot of forums such as ‘bawo’ and football matches where they could discuss such issues with their peers in an informal way.
“The programme wants men to get engaged in all stages of pregnancy from the beginning up to the time of delivery,” Matchaya said.
He encouraged men in the district to escort their wives during antenatal, labour and post-natal sessions for them to appreciate RH issues so that they can give them necessary support during and after pregnancy.
According to Matchaya, the programme which is currently on pilot phase, is targeting health facilities in three Traditional Authorities of Kunthembwe, Kuntaja and Somba before it rolls out to the whole district.
He said male volunteers had been trained to do the campaign among their fellow men in the areas.
A recent survey by the Ministry of Health (MoH) revealed that involvement of males in RH is a good tool for promotion of good health of pregnant women.
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