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Abstract:
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Malawi has integrated Voluntary Male Medical Circumcision (VMMQ as part of the HIV prevention interventions. The overwhelming evidence of the effectiveness of VMMC in reducing the risk of acquiring HIV in men is compelling. While, there has been so much progress on service deliver)- and strategic planning of the VMMC program in Malawi, there is also a need to ensure that the general public is aware of VMMC and its benefits and risks through a comprehensive communication strategy. Most importantly is the partial protection that VMMC offers and also choices and decisions that couples should make to make certain that VMMC does not increase the risk but rather reduces the risk. The VMMC policy and the standard operating procedures have already set up the base tor effective scale up of services and policy direction. It is therefore, imperative that a communication strategy should aim at improving the knowledge and understanding of VMMC within the general public thereby increasing the demand for the service. VMMC is very effective if targets that have been set are achieved because of its public health benefit. As such, intense de mand creation strategies are required while also acknowledging that all men that have been circumcised need to follow other safer sexual practices post VMMC. It is also important to promote VMMC for HIV prevention and delink it from the cultural and religious bases from which it has been associated with for a long time. This communication strategy guides all the communication initiatives s around VMMC in Malawi and should be used alongside other service delivery documents such as the standard operating procedures with the overall guidance of the VMMC policy. We expect all organizations to use this strategy as their reference document when designing VMMC campaigns and utilize the messages contained in the document |