Are there traditional practices that affect men’s reproductive health in sub-Saharan Africa? A systematic review and meta-analysis approach

Abstract

Traditions practices within sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) varies from one culture to another, and are specifically community related. There are traditional harmful practices that rob men of their health, quality of life, their marriages, family wellbeing and they are rarely express in the literature. We aimed to highlight the prevalence of traditional practices among men that could have implications for their health, wellbeing and economic contributions. We systematically searched Pubmed, EMBASE, AJOL and Google Scholar for population-based studies touching traditional practices that affect men aged 15–59 across SSA. The paper reviewed were those published between January 2000 to December 2018. We employed a random-effects meta-analysis to determine different harmful traditional practices among men in SSA. The review yielded only 15 relevant articles based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study identified the practices of groom-flogging, adolescent fatherhood, low sexual debut, polygyny, multiple sexual partnership, concubinage, hegemonic masculinity, circumcision, drinking in excess, cohabitation and sexual coercion as common but divergent practices among men in SSA. The authors suggest that these practices, especially concubinage, boy’s fatherhood and groom-flogging could not be free from health hazards (such as STIs, HIV, stress among boys and suicidal attempt) and should be brought to public discourse. The study concludes that every traditional practice that affects health could possibly affect life expectancies, productivity and threaten the achievement of health-for-all agenda and sustainable development goal in SSA countries. The authors therefore recommend the policy interventions and international discourse on traditional practices that affect men’s health and provision of healthcare services for men in SSA.

Keywords

• men’s health
• traditional practices
• harmful
• sexual behaviour
• sub-saharan africa