Male sterilisations still lag behind female ones by a wide margin in Kovai

MALE sterilisations in Coimbatore district still lag behind those of females despite promotional drives and incentive programmes.

- R KIRUBAKARAN @ Coimbatore

The Health Department conducted 11,241 birth control sterilisations in the last one year between April 2024 and March 2025. Of these, only 35 were male sterilisations and the remaining 11,206 all were female, said sources.

Health officials rued social stigma prevents many men from coming forward for the key family planning measure.

To promote equal participation in family planning, the health department encourages men to undergo no-scalpel vasectomy (NSV) procedures. This procedure is available at government hospitals across 12 blocks in Coimbatore district throughout the year.