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Mr. Ayanda Nqeketo is a Medical Anthropologist who has worked in the area of traditional male circumcision ([[TMC]]), voluntary medical male circumcision ([[VMMC]]) and HIV/AIDS. He grew up in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Over the years he established and maintained excellent relations with both national and provincial departments of health and traditional leadership, as well as plays a technical advisory role on both VMMC and traditional male circumcision. Since 2013 Ayanda, has focused on providing technical support to the South Africa Government (SAG) in development of national strategies, plans and updating MMC guidelines. Emphasis has been on defining NDOH optimal combination packages of interventions that target young men. Ayanda continued support to South African Government implementation of the National Department of Health’s [[VMMC]] implementation plan and the HIV Prevention Strategy for the Health Sector. He supported the NDOH during its engagements with the provinces regarding development and allocation of provincial budgets, under the HIV and AIDS conditional grant mechanism, to cover the costs associated with contracting private health practitioners to integrate VMMC into traditional male circumcision ([[TMC]]). Ayanda offered technical assistance (TA) to establish and maintain dialogue between NDOH and congress of traditional leaders of SA around the utilization and integration of private practitioners to traditional circumcision practices, with the aim of improving the delivery of safe male circumcision.

Mr. Ayanda Nqeketo is a director of Ikamva Lesizwe Institute. Ikamva Lesizwe Institute is a South African not-for-profit organization that was formed in 2016 to assist government and other concerned agencies in certain regions of the country, to facilitate and improve the implementation of both medical and traditional circumcision initiatives, among other things. Ikamva Lesizwe Institute’s approach to its work revolves around working with local communities and traditional leadership structures, to create an environment of consensus and mutual support. In addition to its founding directors, Ikamva’s intervention in communities relies on a number of stakeholders: medical practitioners, local facilitators or gatekeepers who assist in reaching and educating local people about pending medical intervention within traditional male circumcision. Ikamva teams in different localities work hand in hand with traditional custodians of [[TMC ]] with respect and sensitivity to local cultures.