Sudan is among the countries with the lowest prevalence of family planning use in sub-Saharan Africa, with persistently high fertility rates. Although the use of family planning contraceptives is an essential feature of safeguarding women’s health. What has been less frequently examined is men's influence in family planning use and decisions sustaining increased fertility

This study aimed to analyse husbands’ preferences and behaviours contributing to sustaining high fertility in Sudan, and to examine how their influence is reflected in their wives’ contraceptive use and whether and how their wives adopt their wishes in their actual family planning use.

This study used a qualitative approach. Khartoum and Omdurman urban cities were included in the study because they demonstrate high fertility, low contraceptive use among women, and increased unmet need. Couple-level interviews were conducted with forty-six participants. The medical directors and key health providers of the two participating health centers, The Fertility and Reproductive Health Services Centre (FRHC) and Ahfad Family Health Centre (AFHC), assisted in identifying potential participants.

The main study findings suggest that husbands’ fertility preferences and the desire for a large family were prominent, influencing their wives’ contraceptive use. However, some wives who were concerned about their reproductive health decided not to conform to spousal influence. The data also presented underlying local socio-cultural factors and religious norms, offering insight into husbands' perceptions of favouring high fertility.

This study’s findings posit the call for partnerships forged between national health policy officials, researchers, and community health workers to acknowledge the importance of men’s involvement in family planning and fertility decisions. Such partnerships must work to develop awareness-raising programs focusing on men’s contraceptive literacy. Furthermore, national reproductive health policies must develop the skills of health providers and support the critical role they can play in engaging men in services and counseling

Dina is completing a Ph.D. at Maastricht University, Netherlands, in Men and Family Planning, focusing on evidence-based qualitative research. She is a lecturer at Ahfad University for Women (AUW) in Sudan and serves as a member and reviewer for the ICFP Network and Conflict & Health Journal.

She has conducted interactive workshops for NGOs in Addis Ababa in 2023 and 2025 on men's involvement in family planning and on health providers' skills and roles in engaging men in family planning across the Sub-Saharan African region. She also served as a coordinator and director of Gender and Reproductive Health training and research projects funded by UNFPA Sudan.