Cape Town, July 3 (IANS): Botched circumcision in South Africa has claimed at least 10 lives since the start of the winter initiation season which began in June, health officials said on Sunday.
All the deaths which resulted from pneumonia, dehydration and assault were reported in Cape province, where most of circumcision-related deaths take place every year, Xinhua news agency reported.
This came despite a pledge by the government to ensure a zero-death initiation season. The government has vowed to take tougher actions against botched circumcisions which kill many youths every year.
In 2015, during winter and summer initiation seasons, approximately 101 initiates lost their lives (most in the Eastern Cape) and in the last 10 years there have been an estimated 1,000 penile amputations.