Male circumcision is increasingly being incorporated into national HIV prevention programmes especially in settings where HIV prevalence is high and the prevalence of circumcision is low.

Effective communications are a vital component of any scale-up strategy. A number of partners have developed a guidance document for programme managers and policymakers describing how to plan and manage communications to support the scale-up of male circumcision in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Strong communications support is vital to ensure clarity about the relationship between male circumcision and HIV prevention. Misinformation about male circumcision and strong opinions, both for and against the procedure, present challenges that should be acknowledged and addressed in scale-up plans.

To download a copy of the guidance document, click here.

(From the UN's Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa website.)