Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Services for HIV Prevention, Sub-Saharan Africa, 2020.
Emerg Infect Dis
; 28(13): S262-S269, 2022 12.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2162891
ABSTRACT
Beginning in March 2020, to reduce COVID-19 transmission, the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief supporting voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) services was delayed in 15 sub-Saharan African countries. We reviewed performance indicators to compare the number of VMMCs performed in 2020 with those performed in previous years. In all countries, the annual number of VMMCs performed decreased 32.5% (from 3,898,960 in 2019 to 2,631,951 in 2020). That reduction is largely attributed to national and local COVID-19 mitigation measures instituted by ministries of health. Overall, 66.7% of the VMMC global annual target was met in 2020, compared with 102.0% in 2019. Countries were not uniformly affected; South Africa achieved only 30.7% of its annual target in 2020, but Rwanda achieved 123.0%. Continued disruption to the VMMC program may lead to reduced circumcision coverage and potentially increased HIV-susceptible populations. Strategies for modifying VMMC services provide lessons for adapting healthcare systems during a global pandemic.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
HIV Infections
/
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
/
Circumcision, Male
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
Emerg Infect Dis
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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