Two years after it was launched by the health experts in Kisumu, the infant male circumcision drive is gaining popularity with parents showing willingness to allow children undergo the cut.
The infant male circumcision which is safer, less expensive and a means of HIV prevention according to health experts is now being championed by the policy makers in the region as the adult male circumcision faces resistance among men aged 25 and above.
The target group are considered sexually active and poses a risk to Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC).
“We intend to reduce the new HIV infections rates as much as possible given that Nyanza is the leading in the disease,” said Dr Charles Okal, Kisumu County Aids and Sexually Transmitted infections control coordinator.
Dr Okal said that IMC is one of the best interventions that the counties in Nyanza wants to roll out. He however cited lack of qualified personnel and equipment as some reasons why most of the hospitals are not doing the procedure.
Currently, only five hospitals in the region are offering the services for willing parents. They include Lumumba, Siaya referral hospital, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kisumu county hospital and Kombewa sub county hospital.
Anne Okeyo, a mother, said she opted for infant medical cut because it is safer and less expensive as compared to adult male circumcision.
“I took my child for circumcision two hours after his birth in 2012 at Lumumba health facility and I have not witnessed any side effects since then,” said Okeyo.
She is among the 15,000 male infants who underwent the cut in Nyanza as part of a pilot study led by Dr Elijah Odoyo, one of the lead researchers and director of the University of Illinois, Nairobi and Manitoba (Unim) project.
The study, which was done in five public hospitals in Nyanza Province by researchers from the University of Illinois, Chicago, showed the region had registered a higher number of infants undergoing the procedure two hours after birth.
It further revealed that boys circumcised in infancy do not suffer risks of Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in the first year of life. The outcome of the babies registered was positive despite the fact that infant circumcision is little known in East Africa.
About 1,261 infants were registered in Siaya District, Kombewa, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kisumu District hospital and Lumumba hospitals. The study enrolled 627 mothers and 493 fathers while 312 mothers declined the services.