THE male voluntary circumcision advert launched in Windhoek yesterday says: “Get the smart cut, it’s easy, safe and simple.”
The advert is part of the mass media HIV-AIDS campaign materials produced by the information ministry to create awareness and demand within Namibia for voluntary medical male circumcision and the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission.
Health minister Bernard Haufiku and information minister Tjekero Tweya launched the advert to encourage Namibian men to participate in the voluntary medical male circumcision service. Namibia has about nine years to go before 2025 to meet the target of about 300 000 circumcised men, according to the National Strategic Framework’s goal on reducing the HIV rate by about 50%.
Since July 2014 when the former health minister Richard Kamwi launched the circumcision programme at Katima Mulilo, by February this year only 30 000 men had heeded the call.
Haufiku said in high HIV prevalence countries like Namibia, circumcision will at least avert one in five infections as it reduces the risk of contracting HIV by 60%.
Circumcision also reduces the risk of cervical cancer for female partners. He said Ethiopia met its target and exceeded it by 128%, while Kenya recorded a 108% success rate.
Handing over the materials, information minister Tweya said his ministry is tasked with the responsibility of developing coordinated and effective information services.
He said the ministry will monitor whether the materials are being used for the correct campaigns, and what their success rate is.
If Namibians are healthy, Tweya said the country will have overcrowding factories because people are healthy and able to produce.
To marginalised communities, he said: “we will work tirelessly to make it available.”
