A senior government official yesterday admitted that the much-touted male circumcision programme had failed to achieve its desired results with a paltry 18% of the targeted 800 000 men having gone under the knife so far.
Report by Kupakwashe Makonye Own Correspondent The Health and Child Welfare ministry TB and Aids unit director Owen Mugurungi told stakeholders during an adolescent sexual and reproductive health conference in Harare on Wednesday that the rate of male circumcision was way below target.
He said by July this year, only 71 185 out of the targeted 800 000 had been circumcised.
Male circumcision is believed to reduce chances of HIV infection by about 60%.
“The male circumcision rate has to be scaled up since it is very low. At the moment, it is at 18% hence it has to improve,” Mugurungi said.
When the programme began in 2009, government was targeting to circumcise about 1,2 million males by 2015.
“Young people between the ages of 15-29 should be circumcised within the next five years in order to reduce the spread of HIV by half a million,” Mugurungi said.
