By Tawanda Mangoma
An additional 300 Shangaan males have undergone voluntary male circumcision in southern Chiredzi bringing to over 700 the number of young men who have gone through the initiation in the Lowveld over the past two months.
The initiates graduated in Sengwe communal lands in the Limpopo Valley last week, capping a month-long initiation into manhood which included circumcision.
Two weeks ago, over 450 Shangaan males graduated in Chitanga communal lands, Mwenezi, after being circumcised as per the dictates of their culture.
Addressing the initiates at Chilonga Business Centre, a representative of Headman Chilonga, Mr Tiyani Chilonga, praised the Shangaan community for upholding their age-old cultural practice of circumcision.
“We are grateful that our cultural practice of circumcision has withstood the test of time following endless criticism that we have been receiving over the past few years. We are glad that Government has since adopted the circumcision programme in a bid to fight the spread of HIV and Aids,” said Mr Chilonga.
He said this year’s harmonised elections were behind the marginal decline in the number of initiates.
“Last year, we had more than 1 000 graduates, but the number dropped this year. We started our camping in August as always, but most of our people were still focused on elections held on July 30 and this affected our programme in a very big way,” he said.
In his address at the event, Population Services International Masvingo provincial manager Mr Ronald Timbe hailed chiefs in the province for supporting the national fight against HIV and Aids.
“We are delighted that our partnership with chiefs from Chiredzi and Mwenezi districts has seen more than 3 000 initiates undergoing circumcision under the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) programme.
It is our wish to continue with this fruitful partnership as a way of combating the spread of Hiv and Aids.
“We all know that VMMC provide 60 percent efficacy against the disease, but we still encourage people to be cautious through the use of other protective measures such as condoms and abstinence,” Mr Timbe said. The Herald.
