As families across South Africa embrace the festive season, cherishing time with loved ones, many in the Eastern Cape are grappling with heartbreak. The ongoing 2024 summer initiation season, now in its fourth week since launching on 15 November, has tragically claimed the lives of 20 young boys an increase from 17 earlier in the season. The Eastern Cape Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Department has expressed deep concern over the mounting fatalities, raising questions about safety and oversight in initiation schools. Meanwhile, the South African National AIDS Council Men's Sector is calling for stricter regulations to govern initiation practices as the province battles to curb these preventable deaths. To delve deeper into this Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Pheello Oliphant,  Eastern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs spokesperson, and  Siya Ndesi, Secretary General, at the South African National AIDS Council Men's Sector