More than 100,000 men in Mozambique are to be circumcised in a bid to help prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/Aids.
The health authorities in the central province of Zambezia say their campaign will focus on districts of Ato-Molocue, Ile and Gurue, where circumcision is not a common practice.
This is the second phase of a project that kicked off last year with the circumcision of 84,000 men in the province.
Abdul Razak, a medical doctor by profession and governor of Zambezia – one of Mozambique’s most populated provinces – is backing the campaign:
The cost of the two rounds of circumcisions in Zambezia province will come to more than $1m funds provided by the US initiative President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar).
According to the World Health Organization, male circumcision reduces the risk of heterosexual men getting HIV by approximately 60%.
End/BBC