The OR Tambo District in the Eastern Cape has recorded its first death after 2 boys lost their lives in the during the initiation season.
The Department of Health in the Eastern Cape province spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said a 17 year old Anele Nyawuse died on Saturday in a legal initiation school. However the cause of his death is still unknown.
The second boy, a 15 year old Siyabonga Njiva is said to have committed suicide in one of the illegal initiation school in Port St Johns.
Even though young males die in the initiation schools, many traditional healers in the Eastern Cape still say medical male circumcision (MMC) is not an option. They didn’t even change their minds even when the minister of health Aaron Motsoaledi told them the “MMC as a cost-efficient HIV prevention strategy.”
“We have got a problem and we need to do something. The truth remains that medical male circumcision has proven to be very effective in the battle against HIV and Aids.
“KwaZulu-Natal’s [high HIV/Aids prevalence rate] is caused by the fact that men don’t circumcise, while the Eastern Cape is saved by circumcision. But I want us to work together to make sure this circumcision is done properly and nobody dies. This is a problem,” Motsoaledi said.
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