Human Rights Group Says Male Circumcision is a Dangerous Distraction in HIV Battle
The human rights group, International Coalition for Genital Integrity, is continuing to raise concerns about the harms and costs of male circumcision at their booth in the AIDS 2008 conference in Mexico City this week, stating that circumcision programs will be a dangerous distraction in the HIV battle.
West Lafayette, IN (PRWEB) August 3, 2008
The human rights group, International Coalition for Genital Integrity (www. icgi. org), is continuing to raise concerns about the harms and costs of male circumcision at their booth in the AIDS 2008 conference in Mexico City this week, stating that circumcision programs will be a dangerous distraction in the HIV battle.
“Mass circumcision campaigns will result in hundreds of thousands of complications, and could make the HIV crisis worse,” cautions spokesperson John Travis, MD, MPH, “There are already numerous reports of males lining up to get circumcised so they no longer will need to use condoms. ”
Recent studies show that male circumcision is not associated with lower HIV rates in the general population. One showed that the likelihood of circumcision being effective is nil. Another showed that condom programs are 95 times more cost-effective than circumcision. The ratio of physicians to patients in sub-Saharan Africa is much lower than in more developed countries. In Africa, there are 20,000 patients for every physician, compared to 400 patients in developed countries.
Dr. Travis further warns, “Male circumcision is a dangerous distraction in the HIV battle. Even if circumcision does offer some degree of reduced risk per sexual incident, individuals engaged in high - risk behavior are still at risk for HIV. And, circumcision does not protect women. Giving circumcised males and their partners the false impression that they are protected will make the situation worse by increasing risk-taking behavior. Further, mass circumcision campaigns will likely overwhelm the already overburdened African healthcare infrastructure and divert resources away from other needed and more effective HIV prevention strategies.”
The published results of three African randomized clinical trials, conducted in optimal conditions with free condoms and extensive counseling, show that male circumcision was associated with lower rates of heterosexual HIV transmission during the 21 month to 24 month study periods. All three studies were cut short, and there have been no follow-ups.
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