Eight initiates die in the first week of circumcision season in South Africa

Some young boys during the circumcision season

Eight initiates have died from botched circumcisions in the first week of this season in the Eastern Cape, the province’s health department (ECHD) confirmed to News24. ECHD circumcision senior manager Dr Luvuyo Bayeni said they expect more deaths this season. He said two of these deaths occurred earlier on Friday morning. The majority of these were in the Chris Hani District Municipality.
 “We find that the reluctance to consult with medical doctors comes from the parents or the community and not from circumcision schools,” Bayeni told News24.
Bayeni said although high death tolls during the circumcision season are in the Chris Hani Municipality, they do not have a single doctor in the area approved by the House of Traditional Leaders (HTL).
“Ideally, we want to get to zero deaths and we would be happy to get a doctor in each forum. The challenge there comes from HTL who dictate and approve doctors to consult at the initiation school. We are not happy with the number of doctors we have but we have to respect HTL’s rules.”