Embracing male ‘cut’ for Aids prevention

By JOE OMBUOR

Male circumcision, once frowned at by some communities, is turning out to be a major population factor from the part it plays in reducing HIV infections.

Such is the case in Luo land where male circumcision is being embraced as a way to save an entire generation from annihilation after legions of men and by extension, women were knocked off by the scourge.

Medical Services Director Francis Kimani hails the phenomenon as an important, though not the guaranteed protection against the killer virus and acknowledges the role played by politicians in popularising it.

He told a forum organised by the African population and Health Research Centre on the heels of the World Population Day recently that simple practices often taken for granted were at the centre of every revolution, and circumcision was one such practise.

He disclosed that close to 90,000 men in communities where male circumcision never existed underwent the operation voluntarily by the end of last year.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  How audio, text messages led to Joyce Akinyi's conviction
• 
  Four dead, several injured in Kericho bus crash
• 
  South Korea says Jeju Air jet black boxes stopped recording before crash
• 
  ODM warns members against singing Ruto's praises

Birth at home

The day commemorated under the theme: Urbanisation and Health, focused the pressing need to address health challenges through urban planning and inter-sectoral action.

WHO Kenya country representative David Okello said actions to improve urban health did not necessarily require additional funding, but commitment to re-direct resources to priority interventions, thereby achieving greater efficiency.

Okello said virtually all population growth over the next 30 years would be urban based and challenged African governments to take responsibility and action for health in urban settings in a bid to create a better quality of life for all citizens.