Parents taking their boys for circumcision this holiday have been urged to go to health facilities approved by the Ministry of Health to curb infections and the spread of diseases.
Health experts led by Ferdinand Babu, the Nursing In charge at Embu Children Hospital, said circumcision, if not we'll managed, can be a breeding ground for infections and the spread of HIV/Aids.
The experts further said that there are situations where the male organs of the boys have been badly mutilated when the cut is performed by unqualified quacks.
Babu said that sterilised equipment should be used particularly in institutions which have a large number of boys undergoing the cut.
Tenri Primary School deputy headteacher Oscar Muriithi said the institution has made steps in ensuring more than 200 boys who are undergoing the cut at the facility are well protected.
He said there have been many cases in the past where circumcision did not go as planned
“If the boy gets an irreversible injury, he will blame you as a parent for the rest of his life for taking him to a shoddy facility,” Muriithi said.
He reiterated that the risk of infection is high when the cut is performed by people who are not qualified.
“There is a risk of child contracting hepatitis, HIV, gonorrhoea, syphilis and many other diseases,” he stated.
Macharia Muhammed, a parent, said boys should not be taken just anywhere for the cut.
“If you want your boy to be circumcised, take him to a good health facility. Do not go to traditional doctors,” he advised.
“As parents, we have brought some 200 boys for the cut and we came along because we wanted to witness it being performed. No parent wants to hear that exercise went wrong.”
During the months of November and December, many communities enrol their male children as candidates for circumcision.
In urban areas, public institutions like schools are usually hired out to act as ‘dormitories’ where boys, often from one community, are circumcised by doctors, and then hosted until they heal.
During this period, they are trained in the community’s ways of life, before they graduate as men.
