Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC)

On this page we talk about circumcision that is: 

• ‘voluntary’ - when people choose to get circumcised 

• ‘medical’ - when the procedure is done by trained medical professionals. 

Medical circumcision reduces risk of a man getting HIV from having sex with a woman by 60%.  

No. Circumcision reduces the risk of the circumcised man getting HIV from a woman. It doesn't reduce the risk of a circumcised man passing HIV on to a woman or man. 

VMMC can be carried out at any age. But the World Health Organization recommends VMMC for boys aged 15 years and older and men. It is particularly recommended for males at higher risk of HIV infection.

VMMC is recommended in countries where there is a high burden of HIV. If you live in one of these countries and are having sex, circumcision can reduce your risk of getting HIV. It also reduces the chances of getting other sexually transmitted infections. 

Circumcision should always be done by a trained health professional in a clinical setting. Traditional circumcision carried out by a traditional healer or religious leader is often poorly performed. This means it doesn’t have the same HIV risk reduction. 

Yes, it’s good to test for HIV and know your status before considering circumcision. If you have HIV, circumcision doesn’t reduce the chances of you passing HIV on to others.

It is a quick, safe procedure with no long-term side effects. A special device is usually used which stops the flow of blood to the foreskin. Eventually the foreskin tissue dies and can be easily removed after one week. 

Your healthcare provider will tell you how long you should wait to have sex after you are circumcised. It is usually about six weeks. 

Circumcision reduces but doesn’t eliminate the risk of HIV infection. So, stay smart and keep using other forms of protection like condoms or PrEP.

VMMC is recommended in 15 eastern and southern African countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 

Traditional circumcision does not provide the same HIV risk reduction as VMMC. This is because: 

• traditional circumcision is often poorly performed, leading to pain, bleeding and infection 

• the foreskin is often not completely removed 

• it is associated with more risky behaviours such as ritual sexual practices after circumcision 

• some men have more sexual partners because of the belief that HIV-positive circumcised men can’t transmit HIV. 

VMMC isn’t 100% effective at reducing the risk of HIV. So, other HIV prevention methods should be considered for the male getting circumcised. These include: 

• education on having safer sex  

• condoms and education on how to use them 

• testing for HIV 

• testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) 

• PrEP. 

No. In communities that do FGM and VMMC, some people wrongly believe that FGM can also reduce the risk of HIV transmission. In fact, FGM can increase the risk of HIV. If the same tool is used to cut many girls, there is a risk of transmission. Cutting the sexual organs of a girl also increases the risk of wounds occurring during sex which is an HIV risk.