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Kenya will soon introduce a new non-surgical male circumcision method to help curb the spread of HIV.
The Health ministry's National Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infection head, Martin Sirengo, said PrePex, a non-surgical, bloodless, fast and easier medical circumcision procedure, had been piloted in the country since 2015.
"The study has shown that the Prepex male device meets the safety standards used internationally for such devices to pave the way for its use in Kenya," Mr Sirengo said during the release of a report on the Prepex device in the country.
Sirengo said the device, which is already registered by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, was introduced under the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance policy.
Instead of cutting the foreskin, the device uses radial elastic pressure to compress the foreskin between two rings, cutting off blood supply until the foreskin dies and dries up. After one week, the unwanted foreskin tissue is safely removed.
"The procedure is bloodless, requires no injected anaesthesia, no sutures and takes only a few minutes to perform," Sirengo said.
The device was pre-qualified by WHO in 2013. Sirengo said once they reach a consensus, the device will be introduced for use on boys aged 13 years and above.
He said since the device was piloted as an HIV prevention intervention, a number of barriers to accessing the service such as disruption of work schedules, economic activity, pain and cosmetic outcome of male circumcision have been observed.
June Odoyo, the lead researcher on the use of the device, said the procedure was capable of preventing new HIV infections and penile cancer in men.
"We have done the study in collaboration with 2,475 respondents from 10 regions where communities who traditionally do not circumcise live. Men with HIV and those with tight foreskin will not be circumcised using this method until additional studies are done," she said.
According to Julius Achia, an administrator in West Pokot who underwent the procedure, the new process is fast unlike the conventional method.
"Once circumcised, nursing care takes place at home hence reducing hospital costs," he said.
Achia said with the advent of HIV, the Pokot community now sees the need for male circumcision. "I had to set an example among my people in helping to reduce the spread of HIV," he added.
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