The Sunday News
THE Ministry of Health and Child Care is targeting to circumcise 1,3 million men by 2017, as it intensifies efforts to reduce by half the rate of new HIV infections.
Zimbabwe’s HIV incidence rate stands at 0.84 percent, and the target is to reduce it to 0,4 percent by 2015.
The Government adopted voluntary medical male circumcision as one of the comprehensive HIV prevention measure in 2009, and so far 323 525 males have gone under the knife.
Health experts say male circumcision reduces chances of HIV infection in an individual by about 60 percent.
Director for the HIV/Aids and TB Unit in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Owen Mugurungi, said the Ministry of Health was on track to achieving the target to circumcise 1,3 million men, pointing out to the steady rise in the number of men taking part in the programme over the years.
In 2012, 40 775 males were circumcised and the number significantly increased to about 90 000 last year against a target of 115 000.
Dr Mugurungi revealed that this year, the Ministry of Health had already surpassed by almost double, the total number of men circumcised last year, a sign that the 2017 target was attainable.
He said as of July this year they had achieved about 55 percent of the 2014 target to circumcise 217 800 men.
l “Looking at our progress so far this year, by July we had managed to achieve 55 percent of our annual target. As of July 2014, we had circumcised 120 000 out of a target of circumcising 217 800.
l “We are optimistic that the remainder of the year will see increased outputs as we are carrying out more training of doctors and nurses and hence we can be able to increase the number of sites offering male circumcision.
l “The aim is to circumcise a total of 1,3 million men by 2017. We believe that the target is attainable, although it is a fairly high target,”he said.
Dr Mugurungi, however, noted that in order to achieve the target, more work needed to be done in terms of mobilising men to take part in the programme, as well as increasing awareness and the number of facilities that offer Voluntay Medical Male Circumcision.
l “VMMC, unlike other health programmes is a service that targets healthy men who generally may not have a need to go to a health facility. As such, creating awareness and the demand for the VMMC programme is critical.
l “We have embarked on a mass media campaign on VMMC to raise awareness of the programme. This is mainly done through radio, television and the newspapers. We also produce various information, education and communication (IEC) materials that provide more information on male circumcision and these are distributed throughout the country,” he said.
l “We also have community-based workers who work in different communities and provide more information on the programme in their communities and make referrals to the nearest MC centres.”
Although the latest province by province figures of men that have been circumcised so far this year could not be immediately obtained, available figures from last year show that Matabeleland region recorded the highest number of men who were circumcised.
The three provinces in the region, Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South recorded a collective 42 percent of the total number of men who went under the knife nationwide in 2013.
Statistics show that Matabeleland South province recorded the highest number of circumcised men, with 13 500 men having undergone the procedure.
Bulawayo ranked second with 12 600 men having been circumcised, a figure that accounts for 14 percent of the total national figure, followed by Matabeleland North where 11 700 men were circumcised, which is about 13 percent of the total national figure to rank third.
Harare ranked fourth after 10 800 men were circumcised, while Manicaland and Masvingo both ranked fifth with each province having recorded 9 000 circumcised men.
Midlands and Mashonaland West provinces both recorded 6 300 each which is about seven percent of the total number of men circumcised in the period in question.
Mashonaland East and Mashonaland Central recorded the least number of circumcised men last year with each province recording about 5 400 men who got their foreskins removed.
