World Vasectomy Day

World Vasectomy Day (WVD) is an annual event to raise global awareness of vasectomy as a male-oriented solution to prevent unintended pregnancies. The goal is for doctors all over the world to perform vasectomies, connected to the event via Skype and social media platforms.

History

WVD was founded in 2012 by the American film-maker Jonathan Stack while he was working on a documentary about the decision of having a vasectomy.[1] The underlying goal was to involve men in family planning decisions and educate them about vasectomies as a simple way of taking responsibility for birth control.

In 2013, prolific vasectomist Dr Douglas Stein was scheduled to perform vasectomies in front of an audience at the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) to launch the inaugural World Vasectomy Day with the world’s first live-streamed vasectomy. Stein answered questions from a live audience in Australia and an international online audience.[2]

The event's third edition was hosted by Indonesia in 2015;[3] the fourth edition was centered in Kenya and featured a vasectomy broadcast live on Facebook.[4]

On 17 November 2017, at its fifth anniversary, more than 1,200 vasectomists in more than 50 countries joined the event, making it the largest male-focused family planning event in history.[5] The 2017 event's headquarter was located in Mexico.[6]

References

  1. ^ Adams, Patrick (22 September 2016). "Vasectomies: turning an 'act of love' into a global movement". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  2. ^ Peter, Sunny (11 September 2013). "Vasectomy-athon on First World Vasectomy Day: Men Sign-up for 1000 Vasectomies Worldwide". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  3. ^ Winchester, Nick (13 November 2015). "The Snip: Thousands of Men Line Up For World Vasectomy Day". Newsweek. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  4. ^ "Kenyan vasectomies broadcast live on Facebook". BBC News. BBC. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  5. ^ Millor, Ana Karina De la Vega; Stack, Jonathan (15 November 2017). "World Vasectomy Day: How to engage men in family planning efforts". Devex. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  6. ^ Frymorgen, Tomasz (20 November 2017). "Thousands of men are taking part in a global 'vasectomy-thon' today". BBC Three. BBC. Retrieved 27 August 2018.