Health Ministry Imposes New Conditions For Kids' Circumcision

Health, Population and Hospital Reform Minister gaves urgent instruction to the health managers across the 48 Wilayas which prohibit the circumcision outside the operations’ rooms, with obliging surgeons to exercise it exclusively at facilities that meet all the safety requirements that are necessary for the success of surgeries.

Boudiaf told Echorouk, on Wednesday, that circumcision operation “can only be exercised by a surgeon and exclusively within the public or private health facility that meets all the safety requirements that are necessary for the success of this surgery.

“These exclusive actions came within the framework of preserving the safety and health of children, and that is dictated by the need to avoid repeating some of the painful incidents that have turned the joy to sadness, especially since these simultaneous period of Ramadan noticed many of the circumcision operations on the night of the twenty-seven of Ramadan, according to the Algerian habits and in some cases this is done by people who are not qualified and can carry out unhealthy circumcision for children, leading to serious consequences on children’s health.”

“Every head of the surgery department at any hospital of the country refused to programme the circumcision of kids at the level of its services, and will be subjected to strict penalties of up to the very same chapter, which is the matter for everyone who violates the instruction that is issued by our services.”

“Parents should conduct biological tests for their children before the circumcision process to ensure the absence of injuries with blood diseases, especially haemophilia, as this exercise during the first days of the birth of the foetus, is difficult to detect these diseases, which would directly cause the death.”

In response to a question that is relating to the sums of money that are imposed by private clinics randomly in the process of circumcision, and which is 10.000 ZDZ, and that is very expensive for poor families, especially in front of preventing the circumcision operations by charities and neighbourhood committees to circumcise the children of poor families from the night half of the month of Ramadan until the night of the 27th of it, the Minister Boudiaf said that special committees have been formed for this purpose, and will conduct surprise visits to these clinics and in case of the violation of the ministry’s instructions that set the price does of 2000 DZD to the process of one of circumcision in these private clinics, and free of charge in public hospitals, it will apply strict penalties against them.