Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has expressed horror at the news that 1,000 penis amputations take place in the South American country each year, slamming the shocking stat as “ridiculous and sad.”

Bolsonaro told reporters in Brasilia on Thursday the amputations are carried out “due to a lack of water and soap,” and that the government has to work with men to make them know the dangers of bad hygiene practices.

“When you get to a point like that, you see that we're really at the bottom of the pit,” the 64-year-old president said, Globo reports.

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“We have to find a way out of the bottom of the pit, helping these people by raising awareness, really showing what they have to do, which is good for them, is good for their future, and to avoid getting to that point that is ridiculous, sad for us, that amount of amputations that we have a year.”

A spokesperson from the Brazilian urology society told Reuters the 1,000 figure comes from official data on penis amputations, and that they are carried out to deal with untreatable infections, cancers, and HIV complications.

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