Get informed, get tested, get healthy this Men’s Month
Phakamani Ndlovu hopes that men could normalise talking about their health issues and go for regular check ups.
MEN’S Health Month is celebrated in June and Durban resident, Phakamani Ndlovu has urged men to circumcise and practise a healthy and safe lifestyle.
According to the Department of Health, medical male circumcision has been scientifically proven to reduce the spread of HIV by 60%.
Ndlovu who is passionate about men’s health said his passion for the cause started in 2011 when he went for a free circumcision at McCord Hospital.
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After his experience, Ndlovu was very pleased and even posted on the hospital’s Facebook account to commend the staff for their professionalism and for the good service.
“They called me and asked if I would talk about my experience and encourage people at their clinic, and I became an ambassador for medical male circumcision in eThekwini,” he said.
He then worked at the hospital in marketing focusing on medical male circumcision, “and in 2013 when the hospital closed, I carried on in this line of work, moving to the Society for Family Health, an NGO which has a contract with the Department of Health, where I worked as a co-ordinator for voluntary medical male circumcision in the eThekwini District. Since then I have been in this space,” he said.
He is the founder of Phakamani Empowerment Enterprise, a social behaviour change communication and marketing entity with a focus on increasing sexual health knowledge and advocacy for safe sex practice and protected sex.
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According to Ndlovu, research shows a significant increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) affecting sexually active people between the ages of 15 and 49 years in the eThekwini area.
“Our aim is to reduce this through our education and self-esteem building campaigns. When people are empowered with knowledge, they make the right choices for their health and well-being,” said Ndlovu.
The objective of Phakamani Empowerment Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) is to ensure access to quality services for young and adult South African males.
“The services are offered free of charge to clients but funded by President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and approved by South African National Department of Health. The benefits of the programme is to include reducing the risk of HIV-negative men contracting HIV by 60%, help to prevent other STIs and reduce the incidence of cervical cancer in women,” he explained.
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He added that his mission is to build the capacity of young people to become positive influencer’s. To encourage significant participation of young people in making informed decisions about health, lifestyle behaviors and as well as expand target audience knowledge of HIV, STI’s, VMMC, unplanned pregnancy and TB/HIV co- infection and promote early detection.
In addition, Ndlovu promotes government condoms usage as a prevention of unplanned pregnancy, STI’s and HIV.
“This is because of young people my age presenting to our VMMC healthcare facilities for circumcision and are being turned back to treat STI’s first before there undergo the procedure,” he said.
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