One of the world’s highest HIV prevalence, Zimbabwe is turning to the centuries-old procedure of male circumcision to curb the spread of the deadly AIDS virus in the country.
"It reduces the risk of transmitting HIV,” Lovemore, a 20-year-old Zimbabwean, told the BBC News Online on Friday, February 26.
“So whatever's needed for me to be safe, I've got to do it."
Lovemore was among 3,000 men who have been circumcised as a part of a nationwide government plan to fight AIDS.
"I'm doing it for sexual hygiene, I understand that it reduces the risk of you getting infected with HIV."
Harare has launched a campaign to circumcise 80 percent of all young men in the country – three million – in the coming eight years.
The campaign has already been taken to the armed forces, and will be expanded further this year.
The centuries-old operation, in which the penis foreskin is removed, is not widely practiced among Zimbabwe's cultural and religious groups.
Zimbabwe has one of the highest HIV prevalence in the world -- 13.7 percent of the 15 to 49 age group, according to the Health Ministry statistics.
Circumcision is a confirmed Sunnah in Islam as an act pertaining to fitrah (pure human nature).
Effective
Researchers say that circumcision is one of the most effective weapons in fighting the incurable virus.
"It's the most effective intervention that we know today which can really save a lot of lives in terms of HIV acquisition," Karin Hatzold, whose US-based group Population Services International sponsors the project, told the BBC.
Hatzold urges the government to put circumcision as part of a more bigger package of procedures that tighten the grab against the virus.
"But 60 percent is not 100 percent, so male circumcision should not be sold as the magic bullet.
"All the other behavior interventions [such as abstinence and faithfulness] as well as the use of male and female condoms are as important, so they should all be used together."
The United Nations has affirmed the significant role of circumcision in helping reduce the risk of HIV spread.
In 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended male circumcision after three studies in Africa showed it reduced chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent.
Trials in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa have shown that the operation reduces by 60 percent the risk of a man contracting HIV - the virus that causes AIDS.
Some 30 percent of men worldwide are currently circumcised.
According to WHO, about 33 million people worldwide are infected with HIV virus.
"It reduces the risk of transmitting HIV,” Lovemore, a 20-year-old Zimbabwean, told the BBC News Online on Friday, February 26.
“So whatever's needed for me to be safe, I've got to do it."
Lovemore was among 3,000 men who have been circumcised as a part of a nationwide government plan to fight AIDS.
"I'm doing it for sexual hygiene, I understand that it reduces the risk of you getting infected with HIV."
Harare has launched a campaign to circumcise 80 percent of all young men in the country – three million – in the coming eight years.
The campaign has already been taken to the armed forces, and will be expanded further this year.
The centuries-old operation, in which the penis foreskin is removed, is not widely practiced among Zimbabwe's cultural and religious groups.
Zimbabwe has one of the highest HIV prevalence in the world -- 13.7 percent of the 15 to 49 age group, according to the Health Ministry statistics.
Circumcision is a confirmed Sunnah in Islam as an act pertaining to fitrah (pure human nature).
Effective
Researchers say that circumcision is one of the most effective weapons in fighting the incurable virus.
"It's the most effective intervention that we know today which can really save a lot of lives in terms of HIV acquisition," Karin Hatzold, whose US-based group Population Services International sponsors the project, told the BBC.
Hatzold urges the government to put circumcision as part of a more bigger package of procedures that tighten the grab against the virus.
"But 60 percent is not 100 percent, so male circumcision should not be sold as the magic bullet.
"All the other behavior interventions [such as abstinence and faithfulness] as well as the use of male and female condoms are as important, so they should all be used together."
The United Nations has affirmed the significant role of circumcision in helping reduce the risk of HIV spread.
In 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended male circumcision after three studies in Africa showed it reduced chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent.
Trials in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa have shown that the operation reduces by 60 percent the risk of a man contracting HIV - the virus that causes AIDS.
Some 30 percent of men worldwide are currently circumcised.
According to WHO, about 33 million people worldwide are infected with HIV virus.
