A LOCAL government in South Africa has announced it will launch a massive circumcision programme for young Zulu men this year in a bid to curb high HIV infection rates among the province’s heterosexuals.
Addressing hundreds of traditional Zulu leaders on Tuesday in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), provincial premier Dr Zweli Mkhize confirmed male circumcision, a custom banned 200 years ago by Zulu chief Shaka Zulu, is to be revived.
“We believe that circumcision will help us to reduce HIV infections. Before the end of this year, we will be counting the number of people who have undergone the procedure.”
A 2005 study carried out in South Africa revealed that male circumcision reduced HIV infection rates among heterosexuals by 60 per cent. These findings are supported by similar studies carried out in Uganda.
KZN, which is predominately Zulu, has the highest HIV infection rate among South Africa’s nine provinces, placing it firmly at the epicentre of the world pandemic.
A 2007 department of health study estimated that the HIV prevalence rate in KZN among pregnant women was 37.4 per cent – 5.4 per cent higher than the next most infected province.
“We need to embark on this programme because our province has the highest number of HIV-positive people. We are trying everything which we think can help us to reduce infections,” said Dr Mkhize.
The provincial government’s circumcision programme is supported by Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini, who late last year announced his decision to revive the custom among his tribe. Consequently, tens of thousands of young Zulus will likely face the procedure before the end of the year.
His ancestor Shaka Zulu abandoned the practice almost two centuries ago because it reduced the number of warriors he could muster to fight other tribes, because of the length of time it took circumcised men to heal from septic wounds.
There are fears a revival in the practice could lead to dozens of deaths annually, as is the case among the Zulu’s neighbouring Xhosa tribe, which has a tradition of male circumcision.
Dozens of young men in the Eastern Cape province die each year from septic wounds because the practice, a Xhosa rite of passage, is often carried out by unskilled traditional practitioners rather than trained professionals.
However, Dr Mkhize said the circumcision programme would not be implemented by just anyone. “We don’t want to have deaths. People who will use the machines will be from government. We will monitor the whole thing as government,” he said.