Samburu County to buy 20, 000 circumcision knives in HIV war

SAMBURU, KENYA: Samburu County Government is set to procure more than 20,000 circumcision knives in efforts to fight the risks of HIV infection among youth getting circumcised.

The county's ministry of social services, gender and culture will also procure gloves and other health equipment to facilitate a hygienic exercise of boys who will be graduating to manhood in August.

The ministry has initiated a program dubbed 'one knife one boy' where one knife will be used to circumcise one boy.

The ministry's chief officer Andrew Lenyasunya noted that in Samburu culture, boys are circumcised in mass.

"Boys are circumcised in big numbers using one knife, to avoid the spread of and HIV infection we have also trained circumcisers on hygiene and we will provide gloves and other sterilisers," he said.

Samburu county governor Moses Lenolkulal said that the county will also create awareness campaigns so that once the boys are initiated into moranhood none of them will drop out of school.

"Those who have not enrolled in school will also be encouraged to join the shepherd education program," he said.

Shepherd education program is where morans are taken through the primary school curriculum at their homes when they return from the grazing field in the evening.

Lenyasunya added that more than 20, 000 boys are set to be circumcised in the month of August.

In the past circumcisers would use one knife to cut all the boys.