The government of Uganda is now developing a program to implement a nation-wide male circumcision exercise as part of the strategy to reduce HIV infection rates. Circumcision now joins the already in place strongly advocated program, simply known as ABC: Abstinence, Be faithful (to one partner) and Condoms. The new strategy will probably be known as ABCC or ABC(squared) or AB(double)C.

Circumcision has been a tribal practice very much encouraged in the Bagisu who live in western Uganda, but now several men have freely undergone the procedure. Its with this overwhelming support that the government plans to setup a program targeting adolescent males, as Kihumuro Apuuli of Uganda AIDS commission notes. He adds that “if you get an intervention that can contribute to the reduction of infections, you have to support it.”

With the government now fully taking up this initiative, deaths resulting from un-clean knives used by tribal leaders on several adolescent males will be much more reduced. More tribes would easily embrace the government program than if it was taunted as a tribal one.