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The Related Press examines efforts to prevent the spread of HIV by circumcising “about 50 million guys across Africa – where 70 percent of the world’s HIV-infected population lives.” The procedure has been shown to lower a man’s threat of HIV infection by way of heterosexual sex, prompting “[c]ountries with high HIV rates, such as Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, Namibia and Zambia,” to include male circumcision in their HIV prevention plans, the news service writes.
The AP looks at a brand new male circumcision device that according to researchers is less painful and requires much less time for health workers compared to traditional circumcision techniques. The Chinese-developed “ShangRing consists of two plastic rings, one slightly smaller than the other, that trap the foreskin in in between them. With the use of some anesthesia, the foreskin can then be snipped off with out significant bleeding or stitches. The device is kept on for ten days to allow the wound to heal,” the news service writes.
“According to Chinese information, the complication rate in thousands of men who have had the ShangRing is less than five percent,” even though with “traditional circumcisions in Africa, it can be as high as 15 percent. A surgical circumcision takes about 20 minutes; 1 using the ShangRing might be done in about five. … Inside the 40 males tested in Kenya, 90 percent mentioned they had been satisfied using the procedure,” the AP reports.
According towards the news service, researchers are scheduled to launch a larger study in Kenya later this year. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to spend $4 million to support studies evaluating ShangRing and is examining other adult male circumcision devices, the AP reports.
According to “Kim Dickson, an AIDS expert in the World Wellness Organization, … mass circumcision could avoid about four million adult HIV infections between 2009 and 2025,” the AP reports. “Circumcision will most likely avert far far more deaths per dollar spent than other things we’re spending HIV money on,” Philip Stevens, with the International Policy Network, said. “The main problem I can foresee with this is actually persuading men to sign up for it.”
The post anotes that “[e]xperts are also concerned males who get circumcised will mistakenly think they are immune to HIV” (Cheng, 2/15).
This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with type permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It is possible to view the whole Kaiser Every day Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for e-mail delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.
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