State of World Population 2012 - Country Page List - UNFPA

63 per cent to 93 per cent of young men reporting
using contraception in parts of North
America, Europe, and Latin America and the
Caribbean (United Nations, 2007). These figures
stand in stark contrast with most sub-Saharan
African countries, where less than 50 per cent
of young, sexually active men used a condom at
last sex. Globally, female sterilization remains the
most commonly used method, chosen by 20 per
cent of married women (United Nations, 2011).
The figure is much higher in some countries
depending on fertility patterns and the range
of reversible methods available to women.
Countries, with the support of the international community,
should protect and promote the rights of adolescents to
reproductive health education, information and care and
greatly reduce the number of adolescent pregnancies …
Governments, in collaboration with non-governmental
organizations, are urged to meet the special needs of
adolescents and to establish appropriate programmes to
respond to those needs. Such programmes should include
support mechanisms for the education and counseling of
adolescents in the areas of gender relations and equality,
violence against adolescents, responsible sexual behaviour,
responsible family-planning practice, family life, reproductive
health, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection and
AIDS prevention.
— ICPD Programme of Action, paragraphs 7.46 and 7.47.
The international community has more
thoroughly cultivated men’s engagement in the
context of HIV prevention, and communitybased
prevention efforts have contributed to
increased uptake of male condoms. Yet the
World Health Organization reports that less
than a third (31 per cent) of young men in
developing countries have a “thorough and
accurate” understanding of HIV, suggesting that
more support for men’s sexual and reproductive
health, including sexuality education and contraceptives,
is needed (United Nations, 2009b).
Men are increasingly expressing a desire to
be more engaged in planning their families,
including reducing the number of unplanned
pregnancies (Barker and Pawlak, 2011). Up to
50 per cent of men in some countries—Brazil,
Germany, Mexico, Spain, and the United
States—would consider hormone-based contraception
if such male methods became available
(Glasier, 2010). Involving men of reproductive
age in family planning programmes from an
early age can promote more constructive communication
between couples about the timing
and spacing of children.
4 Other marginalized groups
Indigenous people and ethnic minorities.
Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities often
lack access to family planning. Results from
qualitative interviews find that providers themselves
express difficulties assisting ethnic and
indigenous women, often because of an inability
to adequately communicate or understand
their cultural practices (Silva and Batista, 2010;
Cooper, 2005). Prejudice against these groups
can lead to lower levels of investment in their
sexual and reproductive health (United Nations
Economic and Social Council, 2009).
The harmful consequences of government
under-investment are reflected in large disparities
between indigenous and non-indigenous women
on key reproductive and maternal health indicators.
These include maternal mortality rates,
total fertility rates and unmet need for family
planning (Silva and Batista, 2010).
Significant health-related inequalities exist
between indigenous and non-indigenous
groups in several countries around the world.
In Guatemala, for example, where indigenous
56 CHAPTER 3: CHALLENGES IN EXTENDING ACCESS TO EVERYONE