World Vasectomy Day 2022:

Vasectomies are a commitment by men to conserve the planet and to share the responsibility of family planning with their partners.

On December 13th, Women for Conservation, in collaboration with ProAves and Profamilia, completed their third vasectomy campaign with 14 participants from the municipality of El Carmen de Atrato in the department Chocó. These men chose to get vasectomies as an act of love for women and the environment, as preventing unintended pregnancies reduces the consumption of increasingly strained natural resources. It also lifts the responsibility of family planning off of women’s shoulders, allowing them to plan how many children they wish or do not wish to have. Despite the fact that access to family planning resources has been considered a basic human right since 1968, many people in Colombia struggle to access reproductive health services due to economic barriers and a lack of adequate local health facilities.  

This campaign was organized through our partnership with the World Vasectomy Day Foundation and was held at the Profamilia headquarters in the city of Medellín. There is no clinic providing contraceptive procedures in their municipality, so Women for Conservation provided these 14 men with transportation to Medellín, the capital of the department Antioquia. Sadly, this barrier to accessing contraceptive procedures is a reality in the majority of municipalities in Colombia.

In the past, Women for Conservation primarily focused its family planning efforts on providing women and girls with access to contraceptive methods. Recently, however, we have noticed significant interest from men wanting to have vasectomies, and to date, we have held three family planning campaigns for men.

Our first-ever family planning campaign for men took place in February 2022, during which we provided 5 men from El Carmen de Atrato access to vasectomy procedures. Due to our campaign’s success, 24 more men from this municipality decided to undergo this contraceptive procedure in September. Finally, on December 13th, fourteen additional men had the opportunity to undergo vasectomy procedures. 

Overall, 43 men from the municipality of El Carmen de Atrato made the important decision to choose this permanent contraceptive option, which is safe, effective, and allows them to share the responsibility of preventing unplanned pregnancies.

These vasectomy campaigns are an opportunity for people who have low income and who live far from health clinics to have access to this family planning procedure. As such, Women for Conservation and ProAves, in collaboration with Profamilia and World Vasectomy Day, ensure that the participants of the campaigns are not burdened with any costs associated with the medical procedure, including transportation, lodging, or postoperative care.

“I am the father of two biological children and I think that is enough, considering what the planet is going through now. Also, due to economic and sustainability issues, I believe that there are very few natural resources for so many people, and so this is a way to conserve the planet and to ensure that there is equity for those who inhabit it”.

– Juan Carlos Muñoz, WVD Participant

These conservation efforts, aimed at caring for biodiversity and proper family planning, motivate us to continue working in Colombia to provide opportunities for rural women and men, as well as to contribute to the sustainability and wildlife conservation of our planet.

We empower communities and contribute to nature conservation!

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