Close to 2,300 boys have been circumcised during a two-week programme targeting schoolboys in eSwatini, health officials said on Monday.
Coordinator of the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) Programme at the eSwatini National AIDS Programme, Vusi Maziya said 2,279 boys were circumcised during the back-to-school campaign that took place in May.
According to Maziya, Manzini region had the highest number of boys circumcised during the campaign, accounting for at 34 percent of the total.
He however noted that there were several challenges that faced during the campaign, including obtaining parental consent as some parents refused to allow their children to participate in the programme.
“It also became difficult to trace boys that wanted to circumcise when their residential place was different from the place of abode for schooling purposes,” he said.
The official said there was resistance from some Swatis who regarded male circumcision as a foreign practice.
BM/jn/APA