medical male circumcision as one of the measures to combat HIV

Reply by Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, on questions posed in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for oral reply

11 March 2010

Question No. 4

Mr R A Lees (Democratic Alliance, KwaZulu-Natal) to ask the deputy president:

What is the government’s position on the statement made by the Zulu King in his address to the KwaZulu-Natal legislature on 23 February 2010, that all men be circumcised as a means of combating HIV and AIDS

Reply:

Honourable member,

Government welcomes the statements of His Majesty King Zwelithini calling for the broadening of medical male circumcision as one of the measures to combat HIV infection. We also welcome efforts by the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Zweli Mkhize, who, working with his provincial cabinet, has mobilised traditional leaders in the province to rally behind his majesty’s call that young men undergo medical male circumcision to complement the ABC message to prevent new infections.

But why this approach, honourable members will ask?

Strong evidence from clinical trials in South Africa (at Orange Farm in Gauteng), Kenya and Uganda have demonstrated that males who are circumcised have close to 60 percent less chance of acquiring HIV during sexual intercourse. This means that medical male circumcision is partially protective and should be promoted as part of a comprehensive package of preventive activities. Already, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) are promoting this intervention based on scientific evidence.

Accordingly, government has decided to include medical male circumcision into the basket of HIV prevention interventions. Other measures include HIV counselling and testing (knowing one’s status helps to influence behaviour change), sexual and reproductive health education, and advocacy for consistent condom use as well as the management of sexually transmitted infections. All these initiatives complement our message to young people in general: Abstaining, Be Faithful and Condomise!

Finally, I am pleased to inform this house that the South African National Aids Council (SANAC) is finalising clinical protocols and auditing health facilities to assess their readiness to provide medical male circumcisions as demand peaks, which is already the case in KwaZulu-Natal.

Thanks to the support of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the Department of Health’s integrated service delivery model, this demand is being managed.

Issued by: The Presidency
11 March 2010