US-Zambia voluntary medical male circumcision programme receives international recognition
ON July 25, 2016 I received the following media statement from the American Embassy in Lusaka, as part of what was happening in Durban, South Africa during the just ended International AIDS Conference.
The PEPFAR team in Zambia received the “Best Achievements for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC)” award at the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief’s (PEPFAR) Annual Meeting on July 17, 2016 in Durban, South Africa.
The honour, awarded by the office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (PEPFAR’s headquarters), “recognises a PEPFAR Country Team who best exemplifies excellence in achieving programme goals for VMMC.”
Since PEPFAR started in 2004, 1.2 million men have been medically circumcised in Zambia.
In close partnership with the Zambian government, the US government through PEPFAR supported 72 per cent, or 837,000 of those circumcisions.
These 1.2 million voluntary medical male circumcisions will prevent 43,000 new HIV infections among men and women over the next 15 years according to the PEPFAR-supported project Zambia Strengthening Oversight and Accountability of Resources (SOAR).
“The United States is extremely proud of its partnership with Zambia; we have accomplished a great deal together, particularly in the fight against HIV and AIDS,” said Michael Yates,  US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires.
“This recognition and achievement for VMMC would not have been possible without the leadership of Zambia’s Ministry of Health.”
Voluntary medical male circumcision is a key pillar of HIV prevention and can reduce female to male transmission of HIV by up to 60 percent. The VMMC programme is an integral part of Zambia’s HIV response.
This year, the US government has contributed almost US$360 million to fight HIV in Zambia and more than $3 billion to the country’s HIV response since PEPFAR started in 2004.
PEPFAR has contributed nearly $12 million for VMMC in Zambia this year.
The 43,000 averted new HIV infections will save Zambia an estimated $169 million in HIV treatment costs according to SOAR.
Zambia recently launched its 2016-2020 national VMMC plan which PEPFAR will support.
The plan includes advocacy among influential leaders; implementation of WHO pre-qualified male circumcision devices; demand creation; after-hour services; and private sector engagement.
In close collaboration with the National AIDS Council and Ministry of Health, PEPFAR will target men most at risk of acquiring HIV for VMMC – and potential sex partners of adolescent girls and young women – through DREAMS, an initiative to build Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe girls and young women.
“Zambia’s national strategy aims to reach two million or 90 per cent of eligible males with VMMC services. Inspired by this award, we will continue to work together with renewed enthusiasm towards this goal,” Dr Yates said.
Well, this is good news for Zambia in view of recent reports of the country achieving reduced new HIV infections in the population.
This is encouraging and we can only wish PEPFAR all the best in its efforts to support and supplement what the Zambian government and other partners are doing in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

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