Zimbabwe's circumcision drive fails to take off
HARARE, 8 July 2013 (IRIN) - Funds for the male circumcision programme in Zimbabwe are lying idle, as the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare says not enough men are coming forward to use the service, which was launched as part of an HIV-prevention package.[This is a scandalous waste when Zimbabwe's health system is in such a crisis. Eight women and 100 children die daily from pregnancy/birth complications.]
Following the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), Zimbabwe introduced the male circumcision programme in November 2009. The government plans to circumcise about 3 million men by the end of 2015, but the target may be overly ambitious, as less than 10 percent of the targeted population has yet been circumcised.
ZIMBABWE: Circumcision funds ilde as men reject being cut, health system in crisis
A huge challenge in the promotion of male circumcision is that Zimbabwe is traditionally not a circumcising country. The practice is common among only a few communities in Zimbabwe, particularly the Shangani tribe of Chiredzi, in the Lowveld part of the country.
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Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights HIV/AIDS manager Tinashe Mundawarara has called for research into the reasons behind the programme’s low uptake.
“If there is that much belief in male circumcision out there, demand would have been overwhelming. Traditional social marketing has failed to push it in the manner it has done in the promotion of condom use,” said Mundawarara.
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“We need to talk more as stakeholders. We need to talk more as the Zimbabwean community about these issues because the rates of male circumcision are really low,” said Shomiliana.
Zimbabwe has received about $15 million from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for voluntary medical circumcision.
