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A government campaign to thwart the
spread of HIV by circumcising nearly half a million Botswana males has managed
to reach just 7 percent since it began three years ago.
Other southern African countries
also have launched national male circumcision campaigns, including Lesotho,
Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; all are well below their targets.
There is no tradition of male
circumcision in Botswana. Though the procedure is performed with local
anesthetic, takes only a few minutes, and has a recovery period of just a few
days, fears persist.
“The greatest challenge that we have
is the fear of pain amongst men, hence we are having a low turn-out,” said
Conrad Ntsuape, the effort’s coordinator. “Most men seem to think the pain from
the procedure might take long to heal and force them to stay away from school
or work for long, but we are still intensifying our education campaign.”
Alan Whiteside of the University of
KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa said uptake is lagging in many countries across
the region. “The problem is not so much that people don’t want to embrace
circumcision, it is because sometimes the programs are implemented without the
necessary ground work and community participation,” the health economist said.
In response, Botswana is launching
new advertisements promoting “safe male circumcision” as a lifeline and
enlisting the support of popular musicians.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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