Women’s Sexual Health Choices in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Uganda Essay

Introduction

Unfortunately, in many developing countries and areas, females are still treated terribly, as they are deprived of their reproductive rights and freedom to make decisions about their sexual health. Different organizations, including the United Nations, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the International Center for Research on Women, strive to improve sexual health for women and girls, setting this as one of their key goals (Moreau et al., 2020). Among other concepts, the article by Moreau et al. (2020) explores the perception of respondents in the countries of Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Uganda of their existence of choice for sex, contraceptive use, and pregnancy. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the study’s findings.

Measuring Progress Toward Sexual/Reproductive Health

Although the results are similar for some items, they differ for others, demonstrating somewhat varied perceptions of these women from different African countries of their existence of choice. This scale indicates the pressures faced by females from society and their husbands or partners, which affects their sexual decisions and freedom. In the site-specific analysis of the women’s sexual existence of choice, for the item “If I refuse sex with my husband/partner, he may stop supporting me,” one may see that Cronbach’s alpha is 0,75 for Ethiopia and 0,46 for Kano, Nigeria (Moreau et al., 2020, p. 191). This difference indicates that females in Ethiopia tend to respond similarly to the question, while experiences vary on the other site.

Perceptions of ‘Existence’ and ‘Exercise’ of Choice in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Uganda

Further, the authors also notice some differences in their findings. Thus, “in contrast to the pregnancy existence of choice subscale for Ethiopia, which reflected social constraints on childbearing decisions, the subscale for Kano primarily captured internal motivations, such as the desire for educational attainment” (Moreau et al., 2020, p. 192). Indeed, in Kano, the highest Cronbach’s alpha is for the item “If I rest between pregnancies, I can take better care of my family,” which demonstrates the local women’s focus on their needs (Moreau et al., 2020, p. 192). On the contrary, the highest Cronbach’s alpha in Ethiopia is related to the women’s belief that they have to give birth soon after marriage to avoid being considered infertile. Respondents from Kano also agree that space pregnancies improve their health and relationships with partners.

Insights and Surprises: Key Findings on Sexual and Reproductive Health Choices

What surprised me most was the information provided in the Construct Validity section of the study. Thus, Moreau et al. (2020) indicate that in Ethiopia and Anambra, females’ higher sexual existence and exercise of choice scores, as well as sexual empowerment measures, are associated with their increased likelihood of having volitional sex. However, the results are inversed for recipients from Kano and Uganda when assessing these three measures. This difference made me question its causes.

Additionally, it is also questionable why only Ethiopian women’s contraceptive empowerment is associated with their increased likelihood of using them (Moreau et al., 2020). Lastly, it is also interesting that the results for the existence of sexual and contraceptive choices are somewhat similar, while the existence of pregnancy choice yields varied solutions for each site.

Conclusion

To conclude, the study shows that females from the four areas perceive certain items similarly or differently. Ethiopia has the lowest reliability rates, but participants from this country demonstrate strong associations between empowerment and real actions. Overall, additional research is needed to understand the patterns in the mentioned countries better. Different organizations and programs that care for women’s health can enhance the situation for African females.

Reference

Moreau, C., Karp, C., Wood, S. N., Galadanci, H., Kibira, S. P. S., Makumbi, F., Omoluabi, E., Shiferaw, S., Seme, A., & Tsui, A. (2020). Reconceptualizing women’s and girls’ empowerment: A cross-cultural index for measuring progress toward improved sexual and reproductive health. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 46, 187-198. Web.