VMMC saves millions in lives and cost

The medical male circumcisions (MMCs) performed in South Africa from 2008 to 2015 will avert 218,000 HIV infections and save more than US $790 million in treatment costs by 2030, health officials from South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland write in a commentary published by Bhekisisa. A new mathematical model, described in PLOS One, estimates that the almost 12 million MMCs performed by the end of 2015 in 14 priority countries in eastern and southern Africa will prevent more than 450,000 HIV infections by 2030, with almost half the cases averted in South Africa. The ministers write that in the new era of treatment, voluntary MMC must continue to be an important part of the response to HIV. They urge countries to develop plans and commit resources to “ensure that the high male circumcision coverage we have all worked so hard to achieve continues to yield health benefits long into the future” (Bhekisisa, 21 July 2016).