Physician, circumcise thyself!
Lilongwe - It had been a very busy week at Banja La Mtsogolo’s (BLM) Kawale Centre. Over the course of just five days, 61 men had been circumcised and six clinicians re-trained in BLM’s new male circumcision (MC) technique.
The 62nd client was just about to be circumcised… enter Charles Movete, one of BLM’s own clinicians! Charles is normally based in Salima and was at the Kawale Centre, in Lilongwe, for the week long MC training course.
According to Charles, he hadn’t planned on getting circumcised when he first arrived for the course. “As the week went on, I became more and more convinced that circumcision could provide me with some protection against the current HIV pandemic,” said Charles.
And he isn’t alone. He is the third clinician to finish off a MC training week in such dramatic style, certainly an endorsement of the quality of BLM services!
Since 1987, BLM has been the leading private provider of SRH services in Malawi. With thousands of minor surgical procedures being carried out each month in its network of 31 centres, BLM is looking to continue its SRH leadership by spearheading efforts in the country to provide safe and affordable MC services to
Malawian men. BLM currently has 19 clinicians trained in MC.
Driving the MC initiative are HIV prevalence rates in Malawi that near 20% among some age groups. New research shows that MC can reduce the chances of getting HIV up to 60%.
Despite a long week of work and with a three-hour bus ride ahead of him to get back to Salima, Charles had no regrets and was even more keen to promote MC than he was before. “Now that I have undergone the procedure myself, I will have no problem promoting circumcision!” Charles concluded.