SIX older men recently circumcised yesterday asked other males to embrace the cut which they described as a part of the inevitable changes in life. The elders are part of the 4,700 males who have voluntarily agreed to be circumcised between January and July. Pastor George Karambuka a mobiliser for the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision programme that started in 2008 said that out of the 4,700 cut males 200 were above 50 years.
The six elders, aged between 60 to 75, urged the youths and fellow elders to take the cut to reduce HIV/Aids infections. "Other men should go for the cut because it is not painful," said Harrison Wagga, 65. Barrack Tunya, a member of the Luo Council of Elders who was also circumcised, said there is no stigma for those embracing circumcision. He said: "People's perception on circumcision is changing because they see it as a health issue." He said as a community they will not accompany celebrations because it would amount to change of culture.
We are purely doing it on health grounds, Tunya said. The Nyanza Health Reproductive Society in partnership with the government has circumcised 436,000 men since 2008. Nyanza has the highest number at 350,000. Dr Athanasius Ochieng said the government intends to reduce new HIV infections by 950,000 by the year 2025 in Nyanza province.
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From a USAID report: "There appears no clear pattern of association between male circumcision and HIV prevalence—in 8 of 18 countries with data, HIV prevalence is lower among circumcised men, while in the remaining 10 countries it is higher." http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pdf/CR22/CR22.pdf
It seems highly unrealistic to expect that there will be no risk compensation. The South African National Communication Survey on HIV/AIDS, 2009 found that 15% of adults across age groups "believe that circumcised men do not need to use condoms". http://www.info.gov.za/issues/hiv/survey_2009.htm
It is unclear if circumcised men are more likely to infect women. The only ever randomized controlled trial into male-to-female transmission showed a 54% higher rate in the group where the men had been circumcised: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60998-3/a bstract
ABC (Abstinence, Being faithful, and especially Condoms) is the way forward. Promoting genital surgery seems likely to cost African lives rather than save them.
If Luo Council Members Harrison Wagga, and Barrack Tunya think that male circumcision will reduce the sexual transmission of HIV then they are seriously uneducated and misinformed. http://www.salem-news.com/articles/december112011/circumcision-hiv-rg.php Several letters have been published online in Pediatrics. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/1/e175.abstract/reply#ped iatrics_el_54036