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“efforts are being made to ensure traditional surgeons & nurses use safer & more hygienic methods during & after the circumcision”

Traditional male circumcision: A cleaner cut

This week a slightly incoherent Daily Sun article emphasised the fact that traditional leaders and the Department of Health are collaborating to minimize the deaths and injuries associated with traditional circumcision.

Chief Eric Galada is quoted in the article, saying that efforts are being made to ensure traditional surgeons and nurses use safer and more hygienic methods during and after the circumcision procedure.

Among the measures being taught are not using the same cutting instrument for more than one initiate and wearing gloves whilst dressing the initiates’ wounds.

These measures speak to reducing the probability of HIV transmission during what can be deemed a risky procedure. The article however, does not make that connection explicit.

The winter initiation period, which falls over the June school holidays, saw a constant flow of newspaper reports on deaths and injuries due to botched circumcisions.

The summer initiation season begins towards the end of October.