Circumcision weeks: making circumcision part of routine training and service delivery at district-level hospitals in South Africa

Abstract

Background: Medically safe, elective male circumcision supports traditional and cultural rites of passage by reducing the risk of adverse events and death among men undergoing initiation. It is a way of preventing penile conditions that arise from being uncircumcised. It also protects against various sexually transmitted infections, playing a particularly important role in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention, as it protects against HIV infection in men by up to 60%. It also helps reduce herpes simplex virus type 2, a key biological co-factor thought to account for some human susceptibility to HIV infection and human papillomavirus. To address these needs and to meet the World Health Organization's call to upscale male circumcision to 80% in HIV/AIDS epidemic-gripped sub-Saharan Africa, there is a need to provide male circumcision as standard care in district health.