Easier now to make the cut
Namibia is closer than ever to achieve an Aids-free generation said the US ambassador to Namibia Lisa Johnson yesterday.
She commended the country and its health minister Bernard Haufiku for making great strides in the fight against HIV and Aids and establishing itself as a global leader. “The recent Namphia data are clear testimony to this great achievement and indeed, Namibia is very close to reaching epidemic control and closer than ever to achieving an Aids-free generation,” she said. Johnson was speaking at the official opening of the New PEPFAR-funded Smartcut Clinic in Windhoek at the Katutura Health Centre, Black Chain, yesterday. However, she noted that despite this progress Namibia still sees new HIV infections year after year and needs to address this with a combination of prevention strategies. In her view voluntary male circumcision is a crucial component of this prevention combination. “To date the VMMC programme in the Khomas Region has circumcised more than 35 000 men. The VMMC coverage in the region has now increased to 45% among men aged 15 to 29 years. Statistically, this means that more than 1 000 new infections have been prevented since the programme started three years ago,” she said. These circumcisions were done through private sector engagement under the AIDSFree project, which is funded by the US government through PEPFAR and USAids. According to the Khomas regional governor, Laura McLeod-Katjirua, a total of 14 103 men and young boys have been circumcised at the Windhoek Central Hospital since the start of the voluntary medical male circumcision project in the Khomas Region in 2009. VMMC is a key intervention to reduce the risk of HIV infection in men by 60%. The PEPFAR and USAid funded AIDSFree project supports free circumcision services in Namibia's private and public health sectors in the Khomas Region to help curb the country's HIV epidemic. The new Smartcut Clinic was built at a cost of about approximately N$1.6 million. According to the governor the new facility has the capacity for 20 circumcisions daily which translates into roughly 400 men in a month. “In the first month of operation, the new clinic has already performed 69 procedures. In addition to the smart cut, men visiting the clinic can also seek other medical services such as blood sugar testing, blood pressure assessments, STI screenings, including HIV testing, as well as reproductive health counselling,” she said. The clinic is run by seven staff members which includes one clerk, two counsellors, two surgeon nurses and two assistant surgeon nurses.
“The new clinic is centrally located, easily accessible to a large population and since the health centre has long operating hours I am reliably informed that the VMMC clinic will have flexible hours including weekends to allow more men access to their services,” she said.
She commended the country and its health minister Bernard Haufiku for making great strides in the fight against HIV and Aids and establishing itself as a global leader. “The recent Namphia data are clear testimony to this great achievement and indeed, Namibia is very close to reaching epidemic control and closer than ever to achieving an Aids-free generation,” she said. Johnson was speaking at the official opening of the New PEPFAR-funded Smartcut Clinic in Windhoek at the Katutura Health Centre, Black Chain, yesterday. However, she noted that despite this progress Namibia still sees new HIV infections year after year and needs to address this with a combination of prevention strategies. In her view voluntary male circumcision is a crucial component of this prevention combination. “To date the VMMC programme in the Khomas Region has circumcised more than 35 000 men. The VMMC coverage in the region has now increased to 45% among men aged 15 to 29 years. Statistically, this means that more than 1 000 new infections have been prevented since the programme started three years ago,” she said. These circumcisions were done through private sector engagement under the AIDSFree project, which is funded by the US government through PEPFAR and USAids. According to the Khomas regional governor, Laura McLeod-Katjirua, a total of 14 103 men and young boys have been circumcised at the Windhoek Central Hospital since the start of the voluntary medical male circumcision project in the Khomas Region in 2009. VMMC is a key intervention to reduce the risk of HIV infection in men by 60%. The PEPFAR and USAid funded AIDSFree project supports free circumcision services in Namibia's private and public health sectors in the Khomas Region to help curb the country's HIV epidemic. The new Smartcut Clinic was built at a cost of about approximately N$1.6 million. According to the governor the new facility has the capacity for 20 circumcisions daily which translates into roughly 400 men in a month. “In the first month of operation, the new clinic has already performed 69 procedures. In addition to the smart cut, men visiting the clinic can also seek other medical services such as blood sugar testing, blood pressure assessments, STI screenings, including HIV testing, as well as reproductive health counselling,” she said. The clinic is run by seven staff members which includes one clerk, two counsellors, two surgeon nurses and two assistant surgeon nurses.
“The new clinic is centrally located, easily accessible to a large population and since the health centre has long operating hours I am reliably informed that the VMMC clinic will have flexible hours including weekends to allow more men access to their services,” she said.
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