News Archives

South Africa considers male circumcision for HIV prevention
The South African government is assessing how to make male circumcision part of its HIV prevention programme, a Department of Health spokesperson said (Online Newshour, 20 March 2009). The Bophelo Pele centre, site of one of three randomised controlled trials that confirmed male circumcision’s protective effect against HIV, is the only facility in South Africa offering the procedure for free with other HIV services. The Kenyan government has developed national guidelines on voluntary male circumcision for HIV prevention and is training providers.


Scientists urge reassessment of policies on male circumcision
Findings from Uganda and South Africa that male circumcision is partially protective against herpes simplex virus type 2 and human papillomavirus should prompt “a major reassessment” of its role in preventing sexually transmitted infections, according to an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine. These data add to the already compelling arguments for supporting male circumcision in countries with a high prevalence of heterosexually transmitted HIV, the authors write, and other countries should reconsider the potential costs and benefits.


Suriname pilot programme offers free male circumcision
Suriname’s government hopes to provide circumcision services to 100 men and boys in the capital city, Paramaribo, during a three-month pilot programme to help curb sexually transmitted infections, the health minister announced. He noted that male circumcision could also help reduce HIV levels in Suriname, where about 10,000 people are living with HIV (Agence France-Presse, 13 March 2009).


Circumcision may reduce persistent HPV infections
Among those who became infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV) during a US study that followed 285 men for 18 months, circumcised men were more likely than uncircumcised men to have their immune systems clear the virus by the end of the study. Persistent infection with some strains of HPV can cause cancer. Circumcised men in this study were three times more likely to clear any HPV infection and six times more likely to clear an HPV strain linked to cancer.


Male circumcision may offer protection against herpes
Male circumcision reduced the risk of acquiring herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) by about 55 percent in a South African study (Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1 April 2009). Male circumcision also protected against HIV infections regardless of the HSV-2 status of the study’s participants. An accompanying editorial proposes that a reduction in genital herpes ulcers — rather than a reduction of HSV-2 infections — contributes to the effectiveness of circumcision against HIV.


Male circumcision may offer some protection against HPV
Male circumcision may reduce men’s risk of acquiring human papillomavirus (HPV), according to two studies published in the 1 January 2009 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. In an accompanying commentary, scientists say more evidence is needed to confirm this partially protective effect before male circumcision can be promoted for prevention of HPV, which can cause cervical cancer in women. HPV data from the Kenya and Uganda male circumcision randomised controlled trials might provide that evidence.


What do adult men think about male circumcision for HIV prevention?
New data from Uganda shows most Ugandans support male circumcision to reduce the risk of HIV infection, according to a recently completed but unpublished study conducted by Makerere University and Family Health International. Up to 62 percent of uncircumcised men would consider being circumcised, and up to 79 percent of them would support having their sons circumcised. Support for circumcising sons was even higher among women (up to 95 percent) and circumcised men (98 percent) in this survey of 1,675 people in four districts (Plus News, 3 February 2009).


NEJM examines challenges of introducing male circumcision
The Clearinghouse on Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention is cited as a resource for national programmes in an article describing the challenges facing such programmes as they work to expand access to male circumcision. The authors of the 4 December 2008 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine conclude that such programs “will require strong political backing, adequate funding, and leaders to champion the cause to ensure that it is a safe, low-cost option available throughout Africa.


Combining medical circumcision and manhood initiation shows promiseCombining male circumcision performed by trained doctors and nurses with the traditional rituals of initiation into manhood proved safe, feasible, and acceptable in a study among 78 initiates in East Cape, South Africa (Culture, Health & Sexuality, 1 January 2009). Only seven complications were identified: none were severe, and only one (an infection) required treatment. Almost 90 percent of the men said they were very satisfied with the circumcision, though most participants thought they might face stigma because they had not been traditionally circumcised.


African leaders champion male circumcision
An organization of African leaders, including former African presidents and other influential personalities visiting Mozambique, shared regional experiences in fighting HIV and urged the scale-up of effective HIV prevention strategies. The leaders also asked the government of Mozambique to consider the rapid scale-up of male circumcision a priority under the country’s comprehensive HIV prevention plan. As part of their mandate to mobilize leadership in Africa for HIV prevention, these “Champions for an HIV-free Generation” pointed out the compelling scientific evidence, globally and locally, that male circumcision can greatly reduce HIV infections. (UNAIDS, 12 February, 2009)


Male circumcision a focus of military AIDS conference
More than 150 HIV prevention specialists from the armed forces of 26 African countries discussed male circumcision and other new prevention strategies at a conference in Gaborone, Botswana, 2-6 March 2009. Meeting participants convened to identify and share best practices in HIV prevention among military populations and to help prepare the continent’s armed forces to integrate effective new strategies such as male circumcision for HIV prevention.


New York Times features Clearinghouse
Dispelling myths about male circumcision is one of the purposes of a new Web site created by the World Health Organization, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, and Family Health International, The New York Times (3 March 2009) reported. In its first week, visits to the Clearinghouse on Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention site came from Britain, India, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States.


Ghana conference supports male circumcision
The National HIV and AIDS Research Conference (NHARCON) in Accra, Ghana, recommended that male circumcision be promoted as an additional strategy for the prevention of heterosexually transmitted HIV infection in men, while not replacing known methods of HIV prevention (GhanaWeb.com, 5 March 2008).


Men 20-30 years old and risk-takers
Complete coverage by male circumcision could reduce HIV prevalence from 12 percent to 6 percent for an average population country in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020, says a new paper by GJ Londish and JM Murray in the Journal of Epidemiology (3 March 2008). Using a mathematical model, they concluded that the highest benefits are achieved mostly by circumcising men between 20 and 30 years of age and those who engage in riskier behaviour.


Sexual function not affected by male circumcision
Adult male circumcision does not adversely affect sexual satisfaction or clinically significant sexual function in men, according to a randomised controlled trial by the Rakai Health Sciences Program, Entebbe, Uganda (About.com, 8 January 2008).