18 Jul 2013

Since the inception of the Safe Male Circumcision (SMC) programme in April 2009 to May 2013, 78 469 circumcisions have been done, against 232 000 HIV negative males aged 13-49 years, Assistant Minister of Health (MoH), Mr Gaotlhaetse Matlhabaphiri has said.

Mr Matlhabaphiri told Parliament that MoH documented two unsuccessful cases of SMC in the northern part of the country since its inception in 2009.

He said in one of the cases, a four-year-old failed to wake up from general anesthesia in Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital after male circumcision procedure and later passed away in Nyangabwe Referal hospital and the second case occurred in December 2012 at Tutume Primary Hospital where the head of penis of the 10-year-old was partially traumatised.

He said the patient was still undergoing treatment. He was responding to a question from Francistown South MP, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi, who had asked about the success rate of the SMC and whether he was aware of some unsuccessful cases in the northern part of the country. ENDS