There’s a certain element of tongue in cheekiness to this suggestion – or perhaps it’s simply to make a political point. The idea is that Tanzanian MPs should have to show that they are circumcised and if they’re not they should have the chop. This not being something that any adult male contemplates lightly, it’s something much better deal with at the beginning of infancy if it is to happen at all.
But here’s the suggestion:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] A female MP in Tanzania has called for checks to determine whether or not her male colleagues have undergone circumcision — a procedure known to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.The point being made is that MPs should indeed practice what is preached. Circumcision is indeed a partial prophylactic against HIV transmission and it’s not just the period out of action immediately after it that matters. So, given the usual ritual statements that all must do their bit in the fight against HIV, why not?
There would be a certain joy at contemplating the short arm inspection of all politicians to check of course – but a joy in contemplation, not in taking part.
Do note though that we don’t think that MPs are a major locus of infection. Making sure every lorry driver is circumcised would have more direct effect. The major merit here is the political effect. Politicians tend to talk a good game but when it actually comes to doing anything….
The language we use matters - it provides clarity to our own thoughts and enables…
It is now generally acknowledged that the structure of the NHS needs to be overhauled…
In the film Apollo 13, a loss of oxygen causes the crew to start inadvertently…
There's an idea out there which seems intuitive but then so many ideas do seem…
When we think about the darkly opaque goals of modern central bankers as they relate…
As the papers recently filled with the distressing images of desperate souls looking to escape…
View Comments
It's mainly because the glans scabs over and removes the soft tissue transmission vector.
I have a personal theory about the correlation between endemic violence and prevalance of circumscision in a population - America, Middle East....
The validity of circumcision in preventing HIV is very much unsettled. Initial claims were found to be dubious as they were made by Jewish doctors who wanted the whole world to undergo this brutal mutilation. Interestingly, circumcised men are more likely to undergo erectile dysfunction in later life owing to reduced sensitivity.
Male circumcision is a dangerous distraction in the fight against AIDS.
From a USAID report:
"There appears no clear pattern of association between male circumcision and HIV prevalence—in 8 of 18 countries with data, HIV prevalence is lower among circumcised men, while in the remaining 10 countries it is higher."
(this will include men who were circumcised tribally rather than medically, but they and their partners may also believe themselves to be protected, and the whole rationale for the RCTs into female-to-male transmission was a purported correlation between high rates of male circumcision and low rates of HIV)
From a study in South Africa in August 2018:
"Medically circumcised older men in a rural South African community had higher HIV prevalence than uncircumcised men, suggesting that the effect of selection into circumcision may be stronger than the biological efficacy of circumcision in preventing HIV acquisition."
[or that male circumcision simply isn't efficacious at preventing HIV acquisition]
It seems highly unrealistic to expect that there will be no risk compensation. The South African National Communication Survey on HIV/AIDS, 2009 found that 15% of adults across age groups "believe that circumcised men do not need to use condoms". This figure seems to have been unchanged in 2012.
A study in Zambia found that "30% of women at R1, and significantly more (41%) at R2, incorrectly believed MC is fully protective for men against HIV."
It is unclear if circumcised men are more likely to infect women. The only ever randomized controlled trial into male-to-female transmission showed a 54% higher rate in the group where the men had been circumcised.
ABC (Abstinence, Being faithful, and especially Condoms) is the way forward. Promoting genital surgery seems likely to cost African lives rather than save them.