Kenya: models show HIV infections averted

By reaching more than 1 million men, Kenya’s voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programme has already prevented tens of thousands of HIV infections, modeling studies suggest. Medpage Today reports that the results of three different mathematical modelling studies agree that the 1.2 million circumcisions performed under Kenya’s VMMC programme from 2008 to 2015 averted an estimated 21,000 to 33,000 new HIV infections through 2015. The benefits of these male circumcisions are expected to accrue over time: the models estimate that by 2030, the VMMC programme will have averted 60,000 to 180,000 new HIV infections. By 2026, the cost of the programme is expected to be outweighed by the savings it has achieved in HIV treatment costs (Medpage Today, 20 October 2016).