Expanding Male Circumcision Services
Highlights
- Low level of VMMC coverage for men aged 15-64.
- Provide a comprehensive VMMC service package to an estimated 250,000 boys and men by 2024, thus supporting Namibia to reach 80 percent VMMC coverage
- Increase circumcision coverage to 80 percent among males age 10 to 29 years in selected health districts with an adverse event (AE) rate of less than 2 percent.
Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) is an integral component of the Government of the Republic of Namibia’s prevention approach for ending HIV and AIDS. Despite great effort, VMMC coverage remains low. The population-based self-reported circumcision rate is 36.4 percent among males age 15 to 64 (NAMPHIA 2018). This is significantly less than the recommended 80 percent target to achieve public health impact on epidemic control. Namibia needs to sustain the gains and scale up activities to reach its HIV prevention goals.
The SAFE Activity, led by an Abt team, aims to provide a comprehensive VMMC service package to an estimated 250,000 boys and men by 2024. The activity will strengthen national policies, quality improvement systems, service demand, and Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) planning and management capacity. SAFE will engage the private and public sector. The activity also will partner with national and regional VMMC teams to promote uptake of VMMC services and will provide the national VMMC coordination team mentoring and technical support.
Results are expected in 2024. The objectives include increased access to VMMC services in PEPFAR priority regions and increased utilization of VMMC services by young boys and men. Other objectives include quality assurance and quality management of VMMC service delivery and strengthened mechanisms for planning, coordinating, monitoring, and management of VMMC at the MoHSS national level.