Expert: South African government needs to avoid unintentional deaths from illegal circumcisions

　　Chinanews.com, Johannesburg, January 3rd. In response to the death of a South African teenager who received an illegal circumcision, South African medical expert and well-known surgeon Andre Siko said in an interview with the media on the 3rd that the South African government is currently It is necessary to strengthen communication and cooperation with medical organizations around the world, and pass strict review to reduce the number of accidental deaths of adolescents caused by illegal medical practice.

　　At the end of last year, a 13-year-old boy died unexpectedly after receiving an illegal circumcision in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The illegal doctor involved has absconded and the boy's parents have filed a lawsuit against the clinic.

The incident immediately raised concerns among South Africans about the age at which youngsters in the country are circumcised and the issue of illegal medical practice.

　　According to relevant laws in South Africa, the minimum age for circumcision of male adolescents in the country is 16 years old.

In this regard, the relevant health organizations in South Africa have appealed several times before, suggesting that the government raise the age for surgery to over 17 years old.

　　However, affected by the traditional customs of some local tribes in South Africa, the problem of illegal circumcision of boys has not been substantially improved.

Especially during the traditional coming-of-age ceremony of the Xhosa nationality at the end of each year, social problems caused by illegal circumcision are endless.

　　For decades, illegal circumcisions have led to the accidental death of a large number of teenagers, Siko said.

In order to solve this problem, in addition to changing the age limit for circumcision, another important task of the South African government is to strengthen cooperation with medical organizations, especially to strengthen the review of African traditional doctors, so as to avoid the occurrence of illegal medical practice to the greatest extent. "The government must ensure that all traditional practitioners are registered because where money is involved, even people without relevant knowledge and experience will take risks and perform illegal circumcisions for money." (End)