• FGD participants and guardians of boys between 10-14 years mentioned community mobilisers and targeted outreach communication teams as channels that helped allay fears about VMMC. ...the community mobilisers moved from one village to the other and they were able to clarify the misconceptions and the concerns we had about VMMC in a more interactive way compared to the other channels. --Circumcised man ( 20-34) Bangwe ...the mobilisers and targeted outreach communication teams gave us the chance to ask questions and we got the responses and the clarifications on our concerns about VMMC. --Circumcised man (20-34) Chileka • FGD participants further mentioned partners, and friends as primary motivators for their decision to circumcise. …was encouraged by my partner for more sexual excitement. --Circumcised man (20-34) Bangwe …decided to go for circumcision after I heard that my friends went for circumcision at a facility within the neighborhood. --Circumcised man (15-19) Chilobwe 1120 19TH STREET, NW | SUITE 600 WASHINGTON, DC 20036 PSI.ORG PSI ■ ■ Scaling up Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision through effective demand creation strategies in Malawi. AUTHORS: P. Mkandawire, M. Chitulu, I. Meja, R. Nyaleye, M. Kays BACKGROUND The Malawi National HIV strategic framework calls for VMMC scale-up as an essential strategy for a sustained impact on the AIDS epidemic. Enhancing demand creation through innovative advocacy and communication approaches is key to achieve this goal. Between 22 nd July and 6 th September 2013, PSI/Malawi, in collaboration with the Malawi Government and with support from the United States Agency for International Development, conducted a VMMC demand creation campaign to support VMMC service delivery in Blantyre. During the campaign, PSI/Malawi achieved 105% (9969/9500) of its circumcision targets with <1% adverse events (AE). PSI/Malawi conducted a study after the campaign aimed at understanding what led clients to undergo circumcision and the media channels which were most appealing to the target audience. • Participants highlighted a number of benefits that influenced their decision to undergo VMMC like… ...It reduces the risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections including HIV by 60%. --Circumcised man (15-19) Chilomoni ...It enhances hygiene in men around the genital area- no smell. --Guardian of (10-14) Nancholi ….It enhances sexual pleasure, women like circumcised men. --Circumcised man (20-34) Chileka METHOD • 8 focus group discussions (FGDs), each with 12 participants were conducted with men between 15-19 years and 20-34 years. Participants were randomly selected from the VMMC registers. • 5 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with the parents or guardians for 10-14 year olds were also conducted. RESULTS CONCLUSIONS • This study highlights that the use of community mobilisers and targeted outreach communication teams during the campaign helped to allay fears about VMMC and served as the catalyst to action. Furthermore it is worth noting that partners and friends are primary motivators as men decide to under go circumcision. • To scale up VMMC demand creation, efforts should adopt an integrated approach with an emphasis on interpersonal communication strategies like community mobilization and targeted outreach communication. This approach can be applied in other countries to increase the uptake of VMMC. POSTER #: WEPE 330 Contact Email : [email protected]