CDC reports on VMMC progress

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supported more than 8.4 million voluntary medical male circumcisions (VMMCs) in eastern and southern Africa from 2017 to 2021, helping to strengthen the U.S President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief’s (PEPFAR’s) mission to reduce the spread of HIV. A Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report article describes the scale-up of the VMMC programme, which had a mean annual increase in VMMCs performed of 13.5% in the period despite declines during 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of men undergoing VMMC, 74.2% received HIV testing services, and 90.8% returned for a follow-up visit within 14 days of the procedure (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 10 March 2023).