International health advocates, planners, and policymakers agreed at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) that special efforts should be made to stress men's responsibility in family planning and reproductive health, and to promote their involvement in preventing HIV/STDs and unwanted and high-risk pregnancies. Bangladesh is one of many countries now trying to control reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and STDs by establishing public health programs. Bangladesh's system of primary health care (PHC) has long focused upon maternal and child health and family planning (MCH-FP) rather than the delivery of comprehensive care for all. This exclusive focus has led to the almost total exclusion of men as recipients of reproductive health care services at the PHC level. Following consultations with the community, 4 male sexual health clinics were established and opened between August 1995 and January 1996 for 1 afternoon/week, with opening hours later expanded to 1 day/week. The first such services opened in either the public or nongovernmental organization sectors, the clinics were located in existing MCH-FP buildings and open to all men in the communities free of charge. Male staff were trained according to WHO guidelines on the syndromic management of STDs. By the time they opened, awareness of the clinics' existence had been spread in the served communities through word-of-mouth and interpersonal communication networks. To better serve the large proportion of men with psychosexual problems such as impotence, premature ejaculation, and sexual dissatisfaction, 1 staff member studied male sexual health services in India for 3 months, after which he returned to train his 3 male colleagues.

作者：S, Hawkes

来源：Sexual health exchange 1998 年 3期