By CHILA NAMAIKO –
MORE than 1,500 males aged between 15 and 49 years last month underwent the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) exercise in Choma.
The exercise was carried out during the VMMC month in which the Choma District medical office had targeted 1,257 men, but had beat the target.
Acting district community medical officer, Austin Muchanga said in an interview yesterday that a total of 1,540 men were circumcised in August, this year.
“In August, this year, we had set a target of 1,257 males aged between 15 and 49 years to be circumcised, but we have beat the target due to overwhelming response which represent a coverage of 123 per cent,” he said.
He said the exercise was done with support from the provincial medical office, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIRDZ) and the Society for Family Health.
Mr Muchanga said that the majority of men who underwent the operation were from rural areas.
He attributed the development to the continued involvement of traditional leaders who had been engaged to promote VMMC in their respective chiefdoms.
He urged men who had not gone for VMMC to consider taking up the operation which he said ,was providing about 60 per cent protection against contracting HIV/AIDS from infected partners.
Mr Muchanga, however, called men to remain faithful to their partners to prevent further spread of HIV/AIDS.
