KZN offers 3-day camp for safe male circumcision

11 July 2015 - 10:29 By RDM News Wire

Would you like to go on a three-day camp in KwaZulu-Natal? You can if you’re a man and want to be circumcised safely. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health said its medical male circumcision camps opened in 11 health districts this week and continue until the end of the month.Catering and accommodation is provided for the three days at the venue‚ usually a school. The clients are taught life skills and undergo HIV testing and counselling before they are circumcised. After the operation they are assessed and discharged the following day.Circumcision has many crucial benefits‚ particularly that it cuts the chances of getting HIV by about 60%. Penile cancer is also reduced‚ as is the chance of transmitting the human papilloma virus that could lead to cervical cancer in female partners.The KZN health department said men should use condoms after being circumcised.According to a 2012 Human Sciences Research Council report‚ 6.14 million people in South Africa are living with HIV.The MEC for health in KwaZulu-Natal‚ Sibongiseni Dhlomo‚ appealed to parents and caregivers to ensure their male children attend the circumcision camps‚ which are safe.“We’d like to appeal to adult men who are not circumcised as well to undergo this procedure‚” he said. Medical male circumcision is free and is performed discreetly and by medically-trained experts. The healing process is relatively quick and the health benefits are life-long.”People can contact their nearest clinic for more information. They will also test for diabetes‚ high blood pressure‚ TB and HIV‚ the department said...

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