The Social Variability of the Non-Use of Condoms among Married Men in Cameroon

Marcel Nkoma, Ministry of Economy, Planning and regional develpment

Condoms are the only devices that both reduce the transmission of HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and prevent unintended pregnancy. It has been estimated that condoms had the potential to avert 24.9 million sexually transmitted infections and 16.3 million unintended pregnancies. In the African context, the obstacles to the use of condoms are more frequently inevitable, where condoms usually appear as an obstacle in procreation of the couple and leads to sexual permissiveness. In Cameroon, the use of condoms is greater for singles (73 %), 51% for men from broken marriages and only 23% for married men. Using data from the Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey of the 1310 men “married”, this paper used multiple logistic regression to estimate the effects of the determinents of the non-use of condoms and particularly with associated obstacles. The results showed that Factors of modernization interact with one’s culture, directly or indirectly, through one’s level of knowledge as far as condoms are concerned. Moreover, cultural characteristics influence the non-use of condoms. Finally, the effects of attitude and individual perception concerning condoms and the risks of contracting HIV over the non-use of condoms will be mediated by the geographic and economic accessibility of the latter.

Keywords: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Family Planning and Contraception, Population and Development, Fertility

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