News & Events

Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) for HIV prevention was discussed during one oral session and several poster sessions at this year’s Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2016), which was held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 22-25 February 2016. For a schedule of the VMMC presentations and links... more

The 21st International AID Conference (AIDS 2016) welcomes abstract submissions for original contributions to the field in five scientific tracks, with a deadline of 4 February (23:59 Central European Time). The conference will be held in Durban, South Africa, 17-22 July 2016. The theme of AIDS 2016, “Access Equity Rights Now,” is a call to action to work together to reach the people who still... more

A simple device made of two concentric plastic rings, the ShangRing device for performing circumcision on adult men could help turn the tide on Africa’s AIDS epidemic, Xinhua news service reports. The article describes the development of the ShangRing by Chinese wholesale trader Shang Jianzhong after he experienced... more

The protective effect of male circumcision against HIV may not be men’s main motivation for choosing the procedure, suggest the results of a qualitative study conducted in four communities in Botswana. The more immediate benefits of VMMC — improved cleanliness, increased sexual pleasure, perceived greater attractiveness to women, and desire to fit in with a peer group — appeared to play a... more

Circumcised men in Uganda were more likely to report engaging in risky behaviour but less likely to be HIV positive compared to uncircumcised men, researchers reported in an article published online in the journal BMC Public Health. In an analysis of data from two national surveys,... more

Uganda’s first lady and minister for Karamoja affairs counted safe male circumcision (SMC) among the HIV prevention interventions that must be implemented synergistically, along with HIV counselling and testing, elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT), management of sexually transmitted infections, and antiretroviral treatment, New Vision reports. Speaking at an EMTCT... more

Namibia’s former first lady urged all men in Namibia to become circumcised as an additional strategy for preventing HIV, The Namibian reports. Speaking at a World AIDS Day event in the Oshana region, Penehupifo Pohamb is quoted as saying that “the science is very clear” about the effectiveness of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC). Namibia’s Ministry of Health and Social... more

Zimbabwe’s voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programme has made strides despite the failure to reach its target, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) reports. Beginning in 2009, the programme sought to provide VMMC services to 1.3 million men ages 15 to 29. As of September 2015, 500,000 men had been circumcised. The World Health Organization’s regional director for communicable... more

More than 10 million men have been circumcised since 2008 through voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programmes for HIV prevention in eastern and southern Africa, The Herald reports. This milestone was announced by Dr. Magda Robalo, the World Health Organization’s regional director for communicable diseases, in a speech at the 18th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in... more

Preliminary results of a modeling study suggest that Kenya’s success in circumcising 793,000 men and boys from 2008 to 2013 has averted almost 8,000 HIV infections so far and will have an even greater impact over time, researchers reported in the abstract of a presentation given at the 18th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA 2015). By 2050, the number of HIV infections... more

More than 7,000 men chose to become circumcised during a six-week campaign in Zambia’s Ndola District, the Times of Zambia reports. Just over half of the 7,401 clients circumcised from 1 August to 16 September were boys ages 10 to 14, and 3,676 were 15 and older. More than 7,000 men also opted to get tested for HIV during the campaign. In 2014, a total of 21,929 men and boys were... more

More than 127,000 HIV-negative men were circumcised in Zimbabwe during the first eight months of the year, the New Zimbabwe reports. Ministry of Health officials said that more than 500,000 men have received voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) services since 2009, which means that the program is almost at the halfway mark toward reaching 1.3 million men by 2017. The ministry’s... more

Women have not been involved in traditional male circumcision in South Africa, but that is beginning to change as gender politics and a high number of single-mother households push the traditional boundaries of initiation ceremonies, researchers from the University of Witswatersrand write in an article in The Conversation. Focus group discussions among men and women and interviews... more

An increase in the number of non-Muslim men who are circumcised has led to substantial reductions in new HIV infections among men in Rakai, Uganda, a study has found. Presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections on 27 February, the study was conducted to... more

Soccer players and a nongovernmental organisation have teamed up to promote voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) among young men in Zimbabwe, Medpage Today reports. In a randomised controlled trial, more than 12 percent of male secondary school students exposed to the “Make the Cut” intervention became circumcised, compared to 4.6 percent of those attending the schools in the... more