Government to Offer Free Circumcision. 15/9/10
The government is to start offering free male circumcision services at national referral hospitals, district hospitals and health centre IVs.
By Evelyn Lirri
15 September 2010
The government is to start offering free male circumcision services at national referral hospitals, district hospitals and health centre IVs. The development was announced yesterday during the launch of a new HIV/Aids policy that officially adds circumcision to the traditional ABC-abstinence, faithfulness and use of a condom approach.
The Safe Male Circumcision Policy 2010 aims at providing circumcision to 40 per cent of men aged 14-49 over a five year period, according to the Ministry of Health. The policy will guide the planning, implementation and monitoring and quality assurance for safe male circumcision, increase access and ensure that circumcision services are effectively carried out in public and private health facilities. Currently only 25 per cent of Ugandan men between 15 and 55 years are circumcised according to the demographic health survey 2006.
It showed that in eastern Uganda, where culturally men undergo circumcision, 54.7 per cent had been circumcised compared to less than 10 per cent in northern Uganda. Male circumcision was highest among Muslim men at 97 per cent and lowest among Catholics at 10 per cent.
Circumcision has been widely favoured in the prevention of HIV/Aids after evidence from recent studies conducted in Uganda, South Africa and Kenya showed that it could reduce a man's risk of contracting HIV/Aids by about 60 per cent.
But as officials launched the new policy yesterday, they warned against leading sexually reckless lives after circumcision. "This is not a licence for those who are circumcised to be reckless. It must be looked at alongside with other strategies like condom use," said Dr Richard Nduhuura, the state minister for health.
Dr Nduhuura said the HIV/Aids epidemic in Uganda is still severe and the country needs to engage a comprehensive package to tackle the scourge. "The epidemic has become so complex and requires an-all-round response and male circumcision offers a cost effective intervention," he said.
The minister, however, added that male circumcision will not have an impact unless large numbers of males embrace the approach. "Possibly we need to circumcise thousands or millions if we are to create the public health impact that we want," Dr Nduhuura said.
Uganda still has one of the highest HIV/Aids prevalence rates in the Sub-Saharan region-with about 110,000 new infections occurring annually. Health ministry studies show the number of people who engage in unprotected sex with multiple sexual partners has also grown.
Dr Alex Opio, an assistant commissioner for National Disease Control who heads the task force for male circumcision in the Ministry of Health, said circumcision has a lot more health benefits beyond reducing the risk of men contracting HIV/Aids.
"It leads to improved genital hygiene and reduces the risk of cancers in men and women such as penile and cervical cancers which are sexual related," he said. Although government started drafting the circumcision policy in 2008, it has been criticised for its delay in launching the programme which is already running in neighbouring Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania.
Dr Kenya Mugisha, the acting director general of health services, acknowledged that the government had been slow in putting in place a policy but added that now it is ready to start implementing the new policy.
Challenges
But one of the challenges that will face implementation of the policy, according to Dr Opio will be the poor infrastructure and lack of health workers to provide effective circumcision services.
Dr Micheal Strong, who coordinates the US global Aids programme-the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) in Uganda, said prevention will remain a critical area in reducing the Aids scourge-with medical male circumcision being one of the key priorities.
"We are using our existing resources to train surgical staff, improve facilities and inform people about the benefits of safe medical male circumcision," Dr Strong said.