Progress in scaling up voluntary medical male circumcision for HIV prevention in East and Southern Africa, January – December 2012
Since voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) was shown to reduce the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men and recommended in 2007 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), 14 priority countries in East and Southern Africa have added VMMC as a component of their national HIV prevention programmes. Each of the 14 priority countries has a high prevalence of HIV and a low prevalence of male circumcision.
Numerous partners have supported priority countries in scaling VMMC. In an effort to maximize coordination and impact, diverse partners collaborated to create the “Joint Strategic Action Framework to Accelerate the Scale-Up of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention in Eastern and Southern Africa: 2012–2016”. The framework is designed to guide implementation by diverse stakeholders according to its seven pillars, namely:
- Leadership and advocacy
- Country implementation
- Innovations for scale-up
- Communication
- Resource mobilization
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Coordination and accountability
This report updates on progress in 2012 in scaling up VMMC services in the 14 priority countries. Data was collected and validated by the ministries of health of the 14 priority countries. As with previous VMMC progress reports, it summarizes gains and challenges under the seven pillars of the Joint Strategic Framework.
