Circumcision should complement ABC strategy

The government is set to launch the national policy on safe male circumcision to encourage men and boys to seek circumcision from health facilities. Reports show that the policy emphasises that safe male circumcision is an alternative HIV control measure. This is a very important strategy especially if we consider the HIV situation in Uganda today, where over 100,000 Ugandans get infected every year.

Mass male circumcision is indeed necessary considering the compelling evidence that male circumcision reduces the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men by about 60 per cent. Since very few Ugandan men are circumcised, and yet the scale of HIV is high (6.4 per cent), safe male circumcision is likely to help both men and women reduce their risk of infection. Moreover male circumcision is believed to guarantee various benefits ranging from lowering the possibilities of sexual related diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea, genital herpes, and penile or cervical cancers.

The question however is, how will the public get correct and accurate information on male circumcision so as to make the right decisions? People need to know for instance that circumcision alone cannot protect anyone from HIV but is only effective if you also use a condom correctly and consistently. It is also likely that mass male circumcision will put pressure on Uganda’s health system because many health facilities may not be adequately equipped to implement circumcision programmes. In Zimbabwe for example, the government planned to have 1,000 men circumcised at some point but over 3,000 males turned up for the surgery.

Care should be taken to ensure that the mass circumcision programme does not interrupt general health service provision, especially in terms of resource reallocations and timely services. There is need to ensure that resources for other health interventions like HIV/Aids and general health care are not targeted to accommodate mass male circumcision. Rather, the government and development partners should find alternative resources for this programmes to reduce pressure on resources in the health sector.

The media should also be brought on board to report and mobilise the public to participate in such important national programmes. The involvement of the media will have a great impact especially in rural areas where the communities can be reached through community radios.

For this circumcision policy to work, it has to be effectively presented as an additional ingredient in the broader ABC strategy as well as HIV Counselling and Testing services already being implemented by the government. On the whole, the national policy on male circumcision is good news and will hopefully bolster the fight against HIV in Uganda further.

Ms Mirembe has keen interest in health issues