In a large, generalized epidemic like South Africa’s, combining sustained antiretroviral treatment (ART) with proven strategies such as male circumcision, condom promotion, and behavior change efforts could prove less effective than expected, writes Jon Cohen of Science magazine. Neighboring Botswana has reached the UNAIDS targets of 90 percent of people living with HIV knowing their status,... more
News & Events
Approaches that are helping voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) programmes close gaps in service delivery and improve safety were the focus of a webinar on 22 June. Sponsored by the Applying Science to Strengthen and Improve Systems (ASSIST) Project, the webinar examined the contributions of quality assurance and continuous quality improvement (CQI) to VMMC. Presenters addressed... more
A 10 June webinar sponsored by the Human Reproduction Programme and the World Health Organization will examine strategies for increasing male engagement in efforts to eliminate mother-to-child transmission (eMTCT) of HIV and syphilis. Presentations by panelists and discussion will focus on understanding how increased male involvement can help countries meet global eMTCT targets, with examples... more
Kenya has built a reputation as a public-health success with its rapid scale-up of voluntary medical male circumcision, but the story does not end there, writes Diana Wangari in a two-part series in The Star. The first article describes how Kenya’s programme increased... more
Uganda’s health ministry plans to promote circumcision of newborn male infants after studies showed that the procedure can be performed safely in the country’s resource-limited settings, Uganda Radio Network (URN) reports. Researchers from the Rakai Health Sciences Program, the Uganda Virus Research Institute and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health had successfully tested the... more
Five Cabinet ministers are among the 80,000 males who have been circumcised in Swaziland since 2014, APA news service reports. The Ministry of Health’s goal is to circumcise 227,670 male adults, adolescents, and infants by 2018 to contribute to HIV prevention. A large percentage of those circumcised have been boys ages 8 to 15, who usually undergo the procedure during school holidays with... more
More than 1.2 million men and boys have been circumcised in Zambia since the introduction of voluntary medical male circumcision in 2007, health officials reported at the launch of a VMMC campaign in Lusaka. The online publication Zambia Reports quotes the country’s deputy health minister, who spoke at the launch, as saying that Zambia aims to circumcise 80 percent of uncircumcised,... more
Swazi football star Dennis “Yuki” Masina became circumcised to serve as a role model for other men, particularly youth, reports Soccer Laduma, a sports publication based in South Africa. In an interview describing the experience and the healing process, the retired professional football player and current manager of a South African football team urged other men to get circumcised to... more
More than 8.9 million men in eastern and southern Africa have been circumcised in programmes supported by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief since 2009, according to the PEPFAR 12th Annual Report to Congress. That number represents most of the more than 10 million voluntary medical male circumcisions (VMMCs) performed so far, which are projected to avert more than 240,000 HIV... more
New estimates published online in Population Health Metrics suggest that 37 percent to 39 percent of men are circumcised worldwide. Approximately half of all male circumcisions were performed for religious or cultural reasons. The authors conclude that their estimates of the prevalence of male circumcision in all countries and territories in the world are the most accurate to date, in... more
Correct, consistent condom use is still essential even after a man has been circumcised, because male circumcision offers men only partial protection against HIV infection, says a public health specialist from the South African HIV management organization CareWorks in a Health24... more
The PrePex™ device may now be used to circumcise male adolescents ages 13 to 17 following clinical studies that demonstrated its safety and efficacy in this age group, according to a field safety notice issued by manufacturer CircMedTech on 10 March. The World Health Organization, which in May 2013 prequalified the... more