A 16-year-old boy tried to circumcise himself with a machete after his friends teased him that he’d never get a girlfriend, a newspaper reported on Friday.
The boy had to be rushed to hospital in Lupane district after he botched the job.
He’s now recovering at home after doctors safely circumcised him, the Chronicle reported.
“It seems the other boys were laughing at him for not being circumcised so he used a machete to circumcise himself and injured himself in the process,” provincial medical director Nyasha Masuka told the paper.
The incident shows not only the danger of peer pressure – but also the astonishing reach of a nationwide voluntary circumcision programme for men. The procedure is being touted as a way of reducing HIV transmission and the incidence of cervical cancer in women. Those who chose to be circumcised don’t have to pay.
The boy lives in an area regularly visited by doctors carrying out voluntary circumcisions. It’s not entirely clear why the boy did not take advantage of the programme though the Chronicle suggested health officials found it difficult to convince some community members in the district.
According to the health ministry’s “Accelerated Strategic and Operational Plan for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision”, Zimbabwe has set a target of circumcising 1.3 million men between the ages of 13 and 29 by 2017.
