Former UN official calls for male circumcision

  1. Posted on Thursday 27 December 2007 - 11:31
    AfricaNews editor
    Evans Wafula, Nairobi, Kenya
    [VIDEO] Last week world media aired the results of two clinical trials on male circumcision conducted in Uganda and Kenya and presented them as being a medical break through in the fight against the spread of HIV\AIDS. Mr. Steven Lewis, a former UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS calls upon governments to seriously consider that solution among others.
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    Lewis too describes male circumcision as a 'breakthrough' in the search for a cure against the spread of HIV\AIDS in Africa. Lewis also urged African governments to invest in cultural values as the only way of defeating the fight against HIV\AIDS.

    The statement by Steve Lewis further raises the debate on findings conducted in Uganda and Kenya which both showed that male risk of HIV infection through heterosexual sex is reduced by up to 65%.

    Join the discussion on male circumcision

    Keywords:  uganda kenya culture health society


Reactions

  1. Posted on Sunday 30 December 2007 09:20
    Joshua
    Image of Joshua


    13 berichten
    Lid sinds December 2007

    Steve Lewis tells it like it is.

    Read also the joint statement from WHO and UNAIDS:

    New Data on Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention: Policy and Programme Implications
    http://data.unaids.org/pu...mc_recommendations_en.pdf

    I quote:

    "Conclusion 1: The research evidence is compelling
    The research evidence that male circumcision is efficacious in reducing sexual transmission of HIV from women to men is compelling. The partial protective effect of male circumcision is remarkably consistent across the observational studies (ecological, cross-sectional and cohort) and the three randomized controlled trials conducted in diverse settings.
    The three randomised controlled trials showed that male circumcision performed by well-trained medical professionals was safe and reduced the risk of acquiring HIV infection by approximately 60%.
    The efficacy of male circumcision in reducing female to male transmission of HIV has been proven beyond reasonable doubt. This is an important landmark in the history of HIV prevention.

    Recommendations :
    1.1 Male circumcision should now be recognized as an efficacious intervention for HIV prevention.
    1.2 Promoting male circumcision should be recognized as an additional, important strategy for the prevention of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men."
  2. Posted on Friday 25 January 2008 09:34
    Simon9A
    Image of Simon9A


    3 berichten
    Lid sinds January 2008

    *Click on "Join the discussion on male circumcision" beside video to see context of this post.

    Judging by the posts, it sounds like Joshua has a few mental issues of his own. I can't imagine how someone can be so angry at people who express an opinion about a health issue. What a shock, intelligent people might see resorting to a primitive custom to prevent HIV as being a bad idea. And a diversion of money and resources from more proven methods of prevention.

    To hear Joshua, one would think he believes circumcision is the solution to the AIDS crisis in Africa. Even if these studies stand the test of time, circumcision does little in fighting HIV compared to condoms, education, access to ARVs and behavioral factors. It might be good for the UNAIDS PR dept to have a new 'answer' to go out and do fundraising, but surely they are lost if they believe this is a priority.

    Why fight a battle with a sling shot when you can use missiles? It is concerning to see the World Health community resort to promoting a primitive body modification custom as the new answer to AIDS.

    Then there is the little human rights problem of removing healthy sex anatomy from people without their consent or through coercion. Why not aim to make the services available to willing adult males instead of resorting to coercion strategies, marketing/propaganda and targeting children? Lay the facts on the table and let people decide for their own bodies. It seems that the WHO sometimes has a tendency to treat people in developing countries as cattle.

    For all the good work Stephen Lewis does he is a hypocrite in this case. He speaks against programs designed to promote behavior change as being 'neocolonialist' yet sees absolutely no problem with telling African Men what they should be doing with their own bodies. When they can achieve the same ends through simply being educated about HIV, not sleeping with hookers and using condoms. The proven methods for HIV prevention that are far more reliable and protective.

    And speaking to Joshua's posts again... The foreskin as a 'public health risk'. Absurd. I won't even address this contention because it is insane.

    And now I suppose I should brace myself for rabid attacks on my character and state of mental health now that I have expressed a differing opinion. I wonder who are these invisible enemies of his imagination.