Demand For Male Circumcision In Southern Africa Outpaces Supply

DAKAR, 8 December 2008 (PlusNews) - Looking to get circumcised to reduce your risk of HIV infection? If you're living in Southern Africa, you might have a long wait until services become more widely available.

The demand is there, so is the evidence that male circumcision can work, and even some national policies are in place, but staff shortages and constraints in local health systems are slowing down implementation.

"Even if we want to train, who are you going to train? Because there is not enough staff to do the procedure," said Kim Dickson of the World Health Organisation (WHO) speaking at the International Conference on AIDS and STIs (sexually transmitted infections) in Africa (ICASA) in Dakar, Senegal, last week.

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