08 Dec 2015

Male circumcision is one of the oldest and most common practices that have been performed worldwide for various reasons such as religion, social or cultural, says labour and mome affairs minister, Mr Edwin Batshu.

Speaking at the official launch of the six months accelerated Safe Male Circumcision (SMC) campaign in Tutume. Mr Batshu said although it was not practiced widely in Botswana, it was not new to the nation as some tribes continued to circumcise their men from infancy to boyhood.

He said the goal of the national strategy for SMC was to contribute to reduction of new HIV infection cases by scaling up SMC throughout the country. Mr Batshu also said HIV prevention provided by SMC could only be attained if 80 per cent of eligible men were circumcised within a specified timeframe, and he called upon men to act in earnest and get circumcised.

He further said the implementation of the SMC programme for HIV prevention had never been an easy one for many countries affected by the HIV epidemic, including Botswana. The minister said the campaign targeted 35 000 men in six months of which over 7 000 was expected from Tutume, North East and Francistown districts.

However, he said the campaign was a challenge and a call for men to take personal responsibility for their health to test for HIV and get circumcised. Furthermore, he also urged those who had already circumcised to be faithful and use condoms correctly and consistently.

Mr Batshu commended the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) from the United States of America for their generous support and contribution for the campaign to be a success.

He also called upon parents to be honest with their children and educate them about HIV/AIDS and prevention methods.

Meanwhile, Tutume Sub-District Health Management Team (DHMT) head, Dr Retta Ayele said over the last years, several innovative prevention strategies of HIV infections had been tried.

Dr Ayele said the government adds a proven new intervention to the national effort, the safe male circumcision.

He said SMC would help bring down the rates of new infections. 

Dr Ayele noted that the removal of foreskin not only reduces the surface area for possible entry of HIV into the body, but also has a role in reducing the risk of some deadly sexually transmitted infections.

He said the district continues to register around 3 000 cases of Sexually Transmitted Illnesses (STIs) each year, which he said, could directly contribute to the increase in HIV infections as the number was high.

Dr Ayele said they managed to circumcise 1 426 males in all the three districts, North East, Tutume and Francistown since the campaign resumed on August 17, 2015. Ends