April 16, 2014
Over the past few years, the pace of scale-up of voluntary medical male circumcision for HIV prevention has finally begun to acclerate around Africa. Many different stakeholders have worked to make this happen—service providers, community educators, wives and mothers, and the millions of men who have stepped up to undergo this simple procedure, which reduces the risk of HIV infection by roughly 70 percent, for life.
AVAC is particularly proud to have partners with a wide range of advocates, including many of our Fellows, who have developed specific, strategic advocacy campaigns at the country level. Along the way, they’ve urged governments to pick up the pace, they’ve documented decision-making processes, they’ve rebutted inaccurate statements about VMMC, they’ve explored what it means for gay men and other men who have sex with men—and much, much more. This work is nowhere near complete, and we’re all focused on the strategies that will help pick up the pace to reach new ambitious targets. These champions, and others, will help lead the way.
Read more about some of this work here:
- A Call to Action on Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision — A report issued by AVAC and African civil society partners detailing key areas for action.
- Africans Telling the Truth About VMMC is a platform for a “unified African voice speaking the truth of voluntary medical male circumcision as an HIV prevention intervention for us.”
- 2014 AVAC Advocacy Fellows Khanyisa Dunjwa and Eric Mcheka are focusing on VMMC as part of their year-long projects—learn more at the Fellows page.