Durban – The KwaZulu-Natal health department is close to reaching the milestone figure of 700 000 men and boys circumcised under its medical male circumcision (MMC) programme in just five years.
This emerged at a presentation by the department’s MMC component in Durban – two days before the start of the 21st International Aids Conference to be held at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in the city.
“The conference is an opportunity to take stock of the progress the world is making in improving access to prevention, treatment, and eliminating the stigma associated with HIV and Aids,” the department said in a statement.
South Africa had turned the tide on HIV and Aids and was now a model country in the management of the disease. The country had the largest antiretroviral (ARV) programme in the world, with 3.4 million people on treatment – 1.1 million of them from KwaZulu-Natal.
However, problems remained, the department said.
Research findings released by Statistics SA recently showed that tuberculosis (TB) and HIV-related illnesses remained the two leading causes of death among young people. And, according to the national health department, thousands of women aged between 15 and 24 were still contracting HIV, in many cases from men much older than them.
MMC was a key aspect of South Africa’s strategy to curb the spread of HIV, as it had been proven to reduce the chances of acquiring HIV by about 60 percent by circumcised males engaging in sexual intercourse.
“MMC is also noted to have benefits of keeping the male genital organs in a good hygienic state, reducing the chances of penile cancer and reducing the chances of transmission of the human papilloma virus which may lead to cervical cancer in the female partner,” the department said.
Following a call in 2009 by Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini, the KwaZulu-Natal health department embarked on a drive to promote and strengthen MMC in the province.
Since 2010, when the department established the KwaZulu-Natal MMC centre of excellence, more that 662 000 males had been circumcised. This excluded the estimated 24 000 men and boys circumcised during the July 2016 school holidays, which would increase the number to 684 000.
“We would like to really urge parents and caregivers to take this opportunity to ensure that their children attend these camps and undergo medical male circumcision (MMC) because it is safe and has great potential to turn around the prevalence of HIV and change our future for the better,” KwaZulu-Natal health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo said in the statement.
“We’d like to appeal to adult men who are not circumcised as well to undergo this procedure. Medical male circumcision is free and is performed discreetly and by medically-trained experts. This means minimum pain or discomfort for those who are being circumcised. The healing process is relatively quick and the health benefits are life-long,” Dhlomo said.
Men wanting to be circumcised should go to their nearest clinic where they would get advice and support and prepare to be tested for diabetes, high blood pressure, TB, and HIV.
“When a person has been circumcised it is important to continue using condoms during every sexual episode, as HIV infection is still possible,” the department said.
African News Agency (ANA)