Reasons for the low uptake of adult male circumcision for the prevention of HIV transmission in Swaziland

Abstract

Swaziland is currently experiencing the worst impact of HIV and AIDS of any country in the world. In an effort to curb further spread of the virus, the country adopted mass male circumcision (MC) as recommended by the World Health Organization in 2007. Despite intense campaigns to promote the procedure over the past three years, the uptake of circumcision remains very low for reasons that are not very clear. The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons for the low uptake of MC in Swaziland despite the massive national MC campaigns. A qualitative research design was used, in which all men who were targeted by the mass MC campaign were eligible. Participants were identified as they came for sexual and reproductive health services at the Family Life Association of Swaziland (FLAS) Clinic, Mbabane. In-depth, individual face-to-face unstructured interviews were conducted to elicit the reasons why men were not going for circumcision. A total of 17 men were interviewed. Results...