Circumcision race heats up as DOH deadline looms
Even though the circumcision target may sound ambitious, Rachael Rawlinson, the Prevention Programmes’ Manager at HIV management organisation, CareWorks says SA still has a fighting chance.
AS the circumcision season officially kicks off, new campaigns are being launched to accelerate the uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) in order to meet the National Department of Health’s (NDoH) target of 4.3 million circumcisions by year-end.
The effect could slash the number of new infections in the country by as much as half and could avert more than one million new HIV infections by 2025.
Even though the circumcision target may sound ambitious, Rachael Rawlinson, the prevention programmes’ manager at HIV management organisation, CareWorks, says SA still has a fighting chance.
“Over the past five years, 2.3 million men have already taken up the challenge and we are encouraged by districts that have risen to the challenge.
“In recent months we have seen a spike in demand in many of the at-risk communities as communication around VMMC intensifies.
“More and more South African men (and women) are becoming aware of the risks that can go along with sex and the difference that VMMC can make in reducing a man’s chances of getting HIV. More men are considering circumcision and women are also encouraging their partners to undergo VMMC,” she says.
“VMMC is part of a combination prevention approach that also includes correct and consistent condom usage, Antiretroviral Therapy (ART), regular testing for HIV and treatment of STIs. None of these measures offers 100 per cent protection, but used together they offer important HIV prevention benefits. This is a way to spread the message about VMMC and allow people to refer their peers who also want to benefit from this preventative measure,” says Rawlinson.
