In just a few days, many people in South Africa will participate in the ‘Movember’ campaign, which aims to highlight men’s health issues.

With this in mind, the City of Cape Town’s Health Department joins the call for men to prioritise their health and seek help earlier rather than later.

Historically, men account for the smallest percentage of clients to public healthcare facilities.

The reasons are many, and complicated, but key among them is a widely held perception that seeking help is somehow a sign of weakness.

City Health and its partners have done a lot of good work to overcome these barriers to entry, and it is starting to show in the statistical indicators.

The interventions include the piloting of male-only clinics and an increase in education and awareness efforts in general.

A review of the statistics over the past two to three years shows that the number of men testing for HIV has remained stable at approximately one-third of all persons tested. This remains a challenge, given that men accounted for more than half of all AIDS-related deaths in the country in 2017.

The number of men testing and receiving treatment for Sexually Transmitted Illnesses (STIs) has seen an encouraging increase over the past two years, from an average of just over 1 000 cases a month in July 2017, to an average of nearly 2 500 cases a month in May 2019.

However, we need to caution that men’s health is not sexual health alone. There are also many non-communicable disease challenges that we face as a city, and as a country, like hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental health.

City Health offers free blood pressure and blood glucose screening at all of its facilities, along with Tuberculosis screening and treatment, and HIV Counselling, Testing and Treatment (HCT).

Knowing your health status means that you can make informed choices. My challenge to men this Movember and beyond, is to reach out to their nearest public health facility and exploit the testing and treatment options available.

We live in a time where ‘self-care’ has become a catch-phrase for many – it should be something we all live by, particularly where our physical and mental health are concerned.

NOTE: The first male clinic was opened in Site C, Khayelitsha in 2007.  Since then, similar sites have been opened in Gugulethu and Bellville, with two more facilities opening in Khayelitsha. The clinics offer primary healthcare services; education on safe sex; sexually transmitted infection diagnosis and treatment; and HIV testing and counselling. The City works in conjunction with a non-governmental organisation, TB/HIV Care Association, and the Western Cape Health Department to promote safe adult male circumcision as a way to prevent the spread of HIV. We provide pre-circumcision checks, counselling and referrals to circumcision facilities.

Details of the male clinics are:

• Site B Men’s Clinic, corner of Bunga and Sulani Drive, Site B, Khayelitsha
• Site C Men’s Clinic, Site C taxi rank, Khayelitsha
• Gugulethu Men’s Clinic, Corner of NY1 and NY3, Gugulethu
• Men’s Health satellite clinic, Bellville Station (currently closed for renovations)
• Kuyasa Men’s Clinic, Walter Sisulu Street, Khayelitsha (operated by Western Cape Health Department)

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