Male circumcision has become an important factor in the spread of HIV in Tanzania, health officials have said, naming regions where it is not practised as the worst affected by the pandemic.
Dr Nay Bukuku, a senior official in the ministry of Health and Social Welfare, said recently regions where male circumcision was mandatory had the lowest infection rates.
Speaking to The Citizen during the 33rd Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) this week, he named areas with the lowest HIV/Aids prevalence rates as Pemba, where the infection rate is 0.3 per cent, Unguja (0.8 per cent) and Kigoma (1.8 per cent).
"Cultural practices in these regions discourage male circumcision. But the situation is very different in Iringa, Mbeya, Shinyanga and Mara regions where circumcision is not part of their tradition," said Dr Bukuku.
The worst hit regions, where infection rates are highest in Tanzania, include Iringa (15.7 per cent), Mbeya (9.2 per cent) and Mara (7.7 per cent).
Others are Dar es Salaam, with an infection rate of 6.7 per cent and Shinyanga (6.4 per cent), Dr Bukuku said.
"In addition, he said there were also low HIV infection rates in conservative pastoral societies in and around Manyara, Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions.
"Most pastoral communities in these regions do not welcome outsiders to settle in their areas, and because of low contact with the outside world, the spread of the virus is minimal," he added.
Last year, countrywide HIV prevalence was reported to have dropped from 7.0 to 5.8 per cent. The official estimated number of people living with HIV/Aids in Tanzania is 1.3 million.
However, some independent stakeholders disputed the figures last December saying the figures were much higher, basing on the visible devastation of the disease and the risky sexual behaviour of people.
The most vulnerable age group is 18 to 40 years thus affecting the most productive section of the population, a blow to the economic development of the country.
In a bid to curb the spread of the disease, the Government introduced a new system in all public hospitals and health centres to allow people easy access to HIV testing and counselling.
Ms Peris Urasa, an HIV counselling and testing officer in the ministry, said under the new system, anyone visiting a public health centre anywhere in the country can access counselling and testing services.
"The idea behind the new Provider Initiated Testing and Counselling (PITC system is to allow as many people as possible to know their HIV status," she said.
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Hear ye! Those who eat salt in their food die. So, don't use salt in your food.
Talk about voodoo idiocy!
Circumcision is a dangerous distraction in the fight against AIDS. There are seven African countries where men are more likely to be HIV+ if they've been circumcised: Rwanda, Cameroon, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, and Tanzania. Eg in Malawi, the HIV rate is 13.2% among circumcised men, but only 9.5% among intact men. In Cameroon, the HIV rate is 4.1% among circumcised men, but only 1.1% among intact men. If circumcision really worked against AIDS, this just wouldn't happen. We now have people calling circumcision a "vaccine" or "invisible condom", and viewing circumcision as an alternative to condoms.
Meanwhile, 31 South African men have died this year in South Africa's Eastern Cape.
ABC (Abstinence, Being faithful, Condoms) is the way forward. Promoting genital surgery will cost African lives, not save them.