Mozambique is to circumcise 100,000 men over the coming months in one of the largest mass drives of a regional campaign to combat the spread of HIV in eastern and southern Africa.

Boy bands, doctors and government officials have all been enlisted to urge Mozambique's male population to opt for the procedure, amid warnings that African states are in danger of missing a United Nations target to circumcise 27 million men by 2021.

Circumcision is believed to be an effective preventative measure in the fight against HIV, after scientists discovered heterosexual men who had the procedure were less likely to contract the virus.

Officials in Mozambique’s central Zambezia province – where 18 per cent of the population lives with HIV – said they hoped to beat last year’s record, which saw 84,000 men and boys volunteer for the procedure.

In an additional bid to meet the target, the country is also one of the first African nations to trial a "DIY" male circumcision kit, which can be carried out at home.