GWERU — Students at the Midlands State University have set up a campus circumcision clinic in a bid to curb the spread of HIV and Aids.
President of the students peer education network Tatenda Magwa told NewsDay yesterday the clinic was set up courtesy of Population Service International (PSI) Zimbabwe.
He said 83 of the 12 000 students at the institution had already undergone circumcision at the campus clinic two weeks after it started operating.
“We felt as university students that we should complement national efforts to fight HIV and Aids,” said Magwa.
“As the peer education network, we agreed that if male circumcision reduces HIV infection by 60% then as the leaders of tomorrow we need to protect ourselves.
“We approached the university authorities who were pleased with the idea and then approached several organisations we thought would partner with us until the PSI agreed to help us,” said Magwa.
Viola Matunhu, the university’s chief nursing officer described the initiative as a major milestone towards curbing the spread of the killer virus.
“These young people are very passionate about health issues and the fight against HIV and Aids,” said Matunhu.
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“This circumcision clinic was student-driven and they are funded by PSI who have given us equipment and their staff. Most of the students want to get circumcised and we are pleased with the overwhelming response.”
