EIMC uptake low in Kenyan pilot

Only 17.4% of newborn male infants were circumcised in four Kenyan counties from 2014-2018, far short of the national goal of 40%, The Star reports. An analysis of health facility data from the four counties in Western Kenya where a pilot project on early infant male circumcision (EIMC) was conducted found that a mean of only 4.3 % of the facilities were offering the service. The researchers, who published their findings in the African Health Sciences journal, are quoted as saying that parents’ scepticism about EIMC may have contributed to low uptake. Fear of side effects is often cited as a barrier to EIMC, but the analysis showed that the procedure was safe, with an average of just 0.3% of procedures resulting in complications (The Star, 7 September 2021).