Circumcision is the way to go to combat AIDS

MBOMBELA – Most men in Mpumalanga still don’t believe in circumcision, hence the ever-increasing rise in HIV prevalence in the province.

This was heard during the recent official opening of the House of Traditional Leaders in the province, at which the premier Mr David Mabuza made a clarion call to them to stand up and speak about the pandemic, as well as the government’s preventative methods which include male circumcision and the use of condoms during traditional gatherings, including Immemo.

“If we work together we can fight the spread of the disease.” He also urged traditional leaders and the people to be tested and know their status.

“We are not doing well as a province, we still struggle to fight HIV/Aids.

“We need to change our behaviour and be responsible citizens, otherwise our efforts and investment as government will be to no avail.

“To this end, our efforts in the fight against HIV/Aids are quite a mixed bag.

“Certain areas of our province show a decline, while others indicate an increase in prevalence. The mountain that we are climbing is still steep,” Mabuza added.

He urged traditional leaders to continue to emphasise the importance of male circumcision to all men of different ethnic groups in the province, especially Swazis who apparently didn’t believe in it.

A few of them told Mpumalanga News that it was not their culture, but due to the compelling circumstances, they would consider visiting hospitals for this procedure.

There is compelling evidence that circumcision reduces the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men by approximately 60%.

“We have made reasonable progress although not yet reaching our set target,” he said. Mabuza added that other illnesses including tuberculosis (TB) diabetes and high blood pressure continued to be a serious threat to the people.

“I, therefore, wish to appeal to all our traditional leaders to join government in its awareness campaign of encouraging our people to begin to live healthy lifestyles and eat healthy food, and exercise more. I assume that, as leaders, we will lead by example,” he said.

The premier added that interaction between the executive committee of the house and the MEC for health and welfare resulted in the appointment of traditional leaders to be board members at various hospitals in the province.

“This move will see Amakhosi playing a critical role in ensuring that good health services are rendered to their communities,” he said.

Mabuza added that Mpumalanga was rated the province with the second-highest HIV/Aids rate following KwaZulu-Natal.

Gert Sibande District Municipality is the worst the province, with six out of every 10 people affected.