From theory to practice: young people’s views on medical circumcision as an intervention against HIV/AIDS and other STIs in Kaputa and Mporokoso districts of Zambia.
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Title
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From theory to practice: young people’s views on medical circumcision as an intervention against HIV/AIDS and other STIs in Kaputa and Mporokoso districts of Zambia.
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Description
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en
Article
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Creator
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Daka, Harrison
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Date
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2022-09-20T13:28:31Z
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Date Available
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2022-09-20T13:28:31Z
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Date Issued
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2021
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Abstract
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The research was conducted in the rural parts of northern Zambia in Kaputa and Mporokoso
in 2013 between January and April. The research is important in understanding the
implications of circumcision as a method of prevention in the quest to achieving zero
infection especially among young people in rural Zambia were infection rates are relatively
lower at 4% and 4.3% respectively as compared to other urban towns were the infection rate
is between 22% and 27% (Kaputa District Health Report, 2012, Mporokoso District Health
Report, 2012). The research aimed at ascertaining to what extent young people were willing
to go from theory into practice by adopting circumcision as a method of prevention taking
into account that in these parts of Zambia, circumcision is not part of their cultural norm.
Only young men aged between 18 and 35participated. The total number of participants was
hundred. These were randomly selected in the two research sites. Questionnaires and
unstructured interviews were used. The responses were analyzed according to the following
categories namely; those between 18 and20 and those between 21 and35. The study found
that young people, especially those between 18 and 20 were willing to adopt circumcision as
one of the methods in HIV prevention whilst the older counterparts were more reluctant.
One of the recommendations is that young people be sensitized in schools and colleges as
part of reaching zero infection as the research found that more young people are willing to
be circumcised that the older ones. Since young people form a large percent of the Zambian
population (Central Statistics Office, 2011) and transmission here is mainly through
heterosexual experience (Ministry of Health, 2007), there is need to get men involved at a
young age. As some results from elsewhere show (UNAIDS, 2011, Reynolds etal, 2004),
circumcision can help in reducing infection among heterosexual couples. However, this
must be preceded by sensitization that young people can still be infected with HIV as most
of them in the study equated circumcision to invincibility from HIV infection.
In light of these findings, it is therefore, recommended that MOH explains circumcision
explicitly to the people as those in this study linked circumcision to invincibility were HIV
is concerned. Circumcision was also linked to behavior in that those who did not want to be
circumcised said they were not promiscuous. Furthermore, research needs to be done on the
relationship between longer sexual experience and loss of sensitivity when people are
circumcised.
Keywords: Circumcision, HIV Prevention, Cultural beliefs, Sexual behaviour.
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Language
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en
en
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Type
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en
Article