PEPFAR's goal: 13 million by 2017

More than 8.9 million men in eastern and southern Africa have been circumcised in programmes supported by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief since 2009, according to the PEPFAR 12th Annual Report to Congress. That number represents most of the more than 10 million voluntary medical male circumcisions (VMMCs) performed so far, which are projected to avert more than 240,000 HIV infections by 2025. Aiming to help 14 priority countries reach 80 percent prevalence of male circumcision and save millions of lives, PEPFAR plans to support a cumulative total of 13 million VMMC procedures by September 2017. Appendix L of the full report includes graphs showing male circumcisions by country as of 15 September 2015 and the potential impact of VMMC for HIV prevention in an illustrative priority country (Zambia) (PEPFAR 12th Annual Report to Congress, 8 March 2016).