Israel bolsters MoH’s circumcision drive
THE Israeli go ernment has donated a prepex machine to the inistry of ealth for safe oluntary male circumcision and enable hygienic procedure with little pain after an operation and protection from tetanus.
Minster of Health Dr Chitalu Chilufya who received the donation yesterday in Lusaka said, the machine would help to push Zambia’s agenda on circumcision forward and that would also help in preventing 340,000 new HIV infections in the country.
Dr Chilufya said the ministry had since embarked on voluntary male circumcision in some parts of the country and was targeting to circumcise 2 million males by the year 2020, but so far about 1.4 million have been circumcised.
Dr Chilufya said circumcision reduced chances of transmission of HIV/AIDS significantly by to percent, therefore the ministry was faced with the use of various methodologies of doing circumcision.
He however said the donation of the prepex machine by the Israeli government was part of tightened the bilateral cooperation in the health sector.
“Therefore, today we are proud to receive a prepex machine gadget that will help us do circumcision using modern methods and by using this machine will be able to reduce operation time, reduce bleeding and less prone to infections,” said Dr Chilufya.
And Israeli ambassador to Zambia, Gershon Kedar said the Israeli government would r hilufya continue collaborating with the Zambian government especially in the health sector.
Lecturers at the Great East Road campus institution on Monday downed tools over delayed salaries.
University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU) president Evans Lampi said the union would not condone delayed payment of salaries from government.
Dr Lampi said the trend of delayed salaries if tolerated would only get worse.
“If we start tolerating these delayed salaries now very soon it will get worse and it will be a situation where we will even go as long as six months without pay like in other government institutions’’, he said.
Dr. Lampi said the union was concerned because every month salaries are always delayed.
Dr. Lampi added that the researchers and lecturers are tired of promises and would resume work once their arrears have been settled.
But University of Zambia Students Union (UNZASU) president Warran Hamusunga said the protests by lecturers may only trigger students’ unrest as their studies are constantly being interrupted.
Mr. Hamusunga complained that the protests were inconveniencing a lot of students who may be forced to react.
“What is happening is not fair to us as students because we are losing out because of these protests, libraries are locked and lecturers’ are where to be seen’’, he said.