The Sunday News
Tendai Bhebe, Sunday News Reporter
THE number of males aged between 13 and 60 who have undergone circumcision has reached 1,9 million surpassing the Government’s target of 1,3 million.
This, Government has noted, that this was a sign that more men are embracing voluntary medical male circumcision.
In an interview, director of the Aids and TB Unit in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Owen Mugurungi, said from the figures most of those embarking VMMC were youths.
“We had our target to have circumcised 1,3 million men between the ages of 13 and 29. A majority has managed to receive the voluntary medical male circumcision that means it’s a positive result. We have received as well more numbers of men coming forth and about 1,9 million men between the ages of 13 to 60.This means more men in between these ages are coming for VMMC.
“Uptake among young boys is fantastic but as they get older at the age of 25 they associate it with pain so few of them come for the VMMC. We can take a look at men who are above 35, they are in relationships or married so they need the wives or partners’ acknowledgement to go and circumcise,” he said.
He added: “We have cases where districts have managed to reach their targets and some have not yet reached their targets but we are not complaining. The other reason is that men are scared of pain.”
Dr Mugurungi said the ministry has agreed to continue carrying circumcision using the ring method.
“We had stopped doing circumcision using prepex device (popularly known as ring) but now we will start doing it again. We are hoping that more men will come for the VMMC so that we reach our target between the ages of 15 and 60.
“Men intending to undergo circumcision must receive two doses of tetanus toxoid containing vaccine (TTCV) before they could have the procedure done. It has been a long process because one has to be vaccinated twice before being circumcised and this became a challenge to us. We have managed to resolve the issue so we are starting again,” he said.
Dr Mugurungi said as a country when VMMC was introduced it was targeted at reducing HIV infection in men by 60 percent, preventing cancers, sexually transmitted infections and for hygiene purposes.
However, he said there was an added benefit because women are now benefiting as circumcision reduces infections that lead to cervical cancer.
