Rwanda recently announced that it plans to launch a virile circumcision program as a way of reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, the New Times/AllAfrica.com reports. A Bureau of Well-being document said the program initially would target the army, police and higher tutelage students (Musoni, New Times/AllAfrica.com, 9/20).
According to absolute data from two NIH-funded studies — conducted in Uganda and Kenya and published in the Feb. 23 dispute of the journal Lancet — routine manful circumcision could mark down a man’s risk of HIV infection through heterosexual sexual congress by 65%. The results of the Uganda and Kenya studies mirrored similar results of a study conducted in South Africa in 2005. In response to the findings, the World Health Codifying and UNAIDS in March recommended the issue from as a habit to help reduce transmission of the virus through heterosexual mating (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 9/7).
Naive Nyaruhirira, Rwanda’s HIV/AIDS agent, called on men in the country to receive the arise from at recommended medical centers from suitable medical workers. The program “would suffer the loss of explanation if done unethically by good anyone because the intended goal would be missed since it would give rise to other problems resulting from complications,” Nyaruhirira said, adding that the health clergy is in the take care of of upgrading the apparatus in hospitals and health centers to enable them safely to perform the shamus.
Nyaruhirira said that circumcision does not accommodate a “green light to go to promiscuity because it does not certify 100% arrest of the virus,” adding, “Let no one understand that once circumcised, men can go ahead and indulge in unprotected sex.”
PEPFAR Support
According to the New Times/AllAfrica.com, Rwanda will be one of the beneficiaries of the financial assistance from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (New Times/AllAfrica.com, 9/20). A delegation of U.S. health officials led by HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt last month announced that PEPFAR will provide money for male circumcision programs in some African countries (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 8/20). According to a government letter, the PEPFAR team in Rwanda is consulting with the government, donor agencies and local partners to determine the most appropriate response for the country concerning male circumcision programs (New Times/AllAfrica.com, 9/20).
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