CHAPS was founded on the cutting–edge and pioneering research that evolved from the Orange Farm Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) research programme in 2005. This randomized controlled trial demonstrated that medical male circumcision led to a 60% reduction in HIV acquisitions in heterosexual males. This contribution by South Africa to the global body of knowledge concertized the World Health Organisation’s subsequent adoption and recommendation of VMMC as a proven biomedical HIV prevention strategy.