VASECTOMY-ATHON HELD IN BALI

World Vasectomy day was celebrated in Gianyar last Friday, with six volunteers being presented to an audience before undergoing the minor surgery at one of the mobile clinics set up around the island.

Some 750 doctors in 25 countries performed over 3,000 vasectomies to mark World Vasectomy Day. Dubbed as a vasectomy-athon, the event aims to encourage men to take a bigger role in family planning. In Indonesia mobile clinics will travel through local communities for two weeks reaching out to men, offering information and counselling and performing the operations.

“In helping to shoulder responsibility for family planning, men become heroes to their partners, to their families and to our future,” said event co-founder Jonathan Stack. Organisers chose to base the event in Bali this year to coincide with an international family planning conference. The conference was cancelled however, as many participants were unable to reach Bali due to the volcanic activity.

Vasectomies are tricky in Indonesia as they are often seen as contrary to Islamic law and local culture. Many men believe that a vasectomy will affect their performance. A program launched in Sumatra in 2012 offering to pay men to undergo the procedure backfired as it infuriated the female population who believed it would encourage extra-marital sex.

A study released at the event found that more than 24 million women around the world now have access to contraception but it is still 10 million shy of targets.

The organisers of World Vasectomy Day say that women still bear the burden of unwanted pregnancies and encourage men to play a more active role in prevention.

Source:

Kompas, Ribuan Pria Jalani Operasi Vasektomi di Bali

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