OVER 5,000 MALES CIRCUMCISED IN EASTERN PROVINCE

OVER 5,000 males aged between 10 and 49 were circumcised during the April Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) campaign in Eastern Province.

Provincial Medical Officer Abel Kabalo told ZANIS in an interview today that 5,242 males were circumcised in the April VMMC campaign saying this was against a target of 5000.
Dr Kabalo stated the programme targets another 5000 in the August VMMC campaign and will specifically target those that are HIV negative.

He stated that VMMC is on-going for males who are HIV positive as they can access the service in various health facilities at any time.
He however expressed concern that reduced support from cooperating partners such as Society for Family Health (SFH) may affect the August VMMC campaign.

The Provincial Medical officer expressed worry that the VMMC August campaign may not reach the intended target of 5000 males in various parts of the province due to inadequate support.

He however stated that health workers will use established systems and available resources to carry out the campaign in all the nine districts of the province.
Dr. Kabalo disclosed that all the holidays on the school calendar have been reserved for the exercise.
Source: ZANIS