Nearly 30 000 additional voluntary circumcisions have to be done in the next five years in order to reach 90 per cent of targeted men and boys for an Aids-free Namibia by 2030.
Currently, the national voluntary circumcision coverage among the targeted age groups between 15 and 29 years of age stands at 64 per cent.
Health and Social Services Deputy Minister Dr Ester Muinjangue in a speech delivered on her behalf on Thursday revealed that Namibia, through the ministry’s new national strategic framework, intends to circumcise an additional 290 000 men and adolescent boys between 2023 and 2028 in efforts to end Aids as a public health threat.
Muinjangue’s speech was delivered at Swakopmund at the celebration of the national achievement of 270 000 circumcisions of men and boys through the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC), which started in 2015.
“The government recently re-energised its vision for an Aids-free generation and developed another five-year national strategic framework to guide the planning, programming, resourcing, and implementation of the country’s multi-sectoral and decentralised HIV and Aids response,” she said.
The deputy minister further said Namibia incorporated VMMC as a proven biomedical intervention in its combination prevention strategy, following strong joint recommendations by the United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organisation for countries with a generalised epidemic such as Namibia to include male circumcision in their HIV prevention package.
“We still have a mammoth task ahead of us to mobilise resources and the community to access the VMMC services and most importantly, to ensure that community mobilisation and engagement of community gatekeepers and leaders are strengthened,” she stated.
The Deputy Country Coordinator of the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), Mao Tjiroze commended the Namibian government’s efforts to debunk myths around circumcision and to engage the private health sector to further increase access to VMMC.
“In the past, the VMMC programme faced challenges in the uptake of male circumcisions such as stigma and other barriers. I, therefore, want to reassure you of the US government’s commitment to supporting this goal that will greatly contribute to achieving HIV epidemic control in Namibia,” Tjiroze said.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
