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Dear Colleague,
A new technical brief from the World Health Organization documents approaches to increasing the impact of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) by enhancing uptake among men and adolescent boys at higher risk of HIV acquisition.
The brief focuses on reaching men and adolescent boys who may, based on one or more characteristics, face an elevated risk of exposure to HIV through heterosexual sex compared to the general male population in their countries.
Reaching VMMC clients at higher risk of HIV is timely for several reasons, the report explains. Many countries and subnational regions are still in the scale-up phase, when prioritizing those at higher risk will yield immediate and lasting benefits in HIV prevention and lives saved. At a time of growing resource limitations, it will be particularly important to prioritize men who need VMMC the most. And, as long as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, such prioritization can help programmes deliver greater impact despite pandemic-related limitations on client volume.
The 2021 technical brief updates the WHO VMMC 2020 Guidelines with an evidence review to inform efforts to reach men at higher risk. It also documents approaches to operating under pandemic restrictions that may be useful to programmes as they restart or rescale their operations.
Best regards,
Clearinghouse Webmaster
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