Strategies for Promoting Male Circumcision through Voluntary Counseling and Testing in Rural Sub-Saharan African Communities

This project is designed to assess logistical and sociocultural challenges involved in promoting male circumcision (MC) as a method of HIV prevention. The project took place in two sites: Mutoko, a rural district in the Mashonaland East Province of Zimbabwe and Vulindlela, a rural district in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa. These communities are high HIV prevalence, resource-limited environments where MC is not traditionally practiced. The goal of this study is to better understand how to incorporate the concept of MC into broader HIV prevention planning for sub-Saharan Africa. Sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted with eight traditional, political, and religious leaders and health care providers key informants at each site. Eight focus group discussions (four focus groups per site) were conducted with community members separated by age and gender: younger men, younger women (ages 18-24 years); older men, older women (25 years and older).