Number of service providers trained in male circumcision, disaggregated by sex, type of provider, and type of training (pre-service or in-service).  For in-service training, data could be disaggregated by location and type of facility (e.g. urban vs. rural, public, private, non-governmental, or community-based).

Data Source(s):

Training institutions for pre-service trainings; training attendance rosters from project records; public and private facility records of in-service trainings

Purpose:

This indicator determines a key component of the extent to which the health system is able to provide male circumcision service.  It helps to assess progress towards an adequate supply of clinically competent providers to meet demand for the procedure.

Issue(s):

Simply having trained staff is not sufficient to ensure access to male circumcision, but must be looked at in combination with other supply-oriented measures as captured in the indicator, Percent of facilities that have the necessary medicines, supplies and equipment for providing safe male circumcision services of high quality.  Also, counting “number trained” alone does not capture the quality of the training or the knowledge obtained.  It is important that this indicator is complimented with an indicator that assesses competency or mastery of knowledge and/or skills.  An example would be, Number of service providers trained in male circumcision who have mastered relevant knowledge.

References:

WHO & UNAIDS. A guide to indicators for male circumcision programmes in the formal health care system. 2009.  http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/malecircumcision/hiv_mc_me.pdf