Papua to Require Male Circumcision in AIDS Fight

[kingwilly]

Papua to Require Male Circumcision in AIDS Fight


A man in a Spiderman costume attempting to entertain a young boy during a mass circumcision ceremony at the House of Representatives in Jakarta recently. Papua's administration is planning to require males in the province to undergo the procedure in an effort to reduce incidents of HIV/AIDS. (Agency Photo)

The Jayapura administration is planning to require male residents to undergo circumcision in an effort to cut HIV/AIDS transmission rates in Papua.

Edison Muabuay, an administration spokesman, said the program was spurred by numerous studies worldwide that found circumcision to be an effective tool against the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The World Health Organization has said that male circumcision, performed by well-trained professionals in sterile settings, can reduce the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men by 60 percent.

“Therefore, the obligatory circumcision will be regulated in 2012, to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in Papua,” Edison said on Sunday.

There are 796 people with either AIDS or HIV on record in Papua, according to data from the Aids Handling Commission (KPA) and Health Department of Papua, including 335 HIV cases and 461 AIDS cases.

Of those cases 330, or 41.5 percent, are male, and 466, or 58.5 percent, are female.

“The worst is that the disease infects people of all ages and sexes. This number should be our concern and [we need to] take breakthrough steps. In Papua, we will require circumcision,” Edison said.

He declined to go into further detail on how the administration would compel males to report for circumcision, or what would happen to those men who failed to do so.

Details on how many men were targeted for circumcision through the program were unavailable as well.

The Health Department and Regional Public Hospital of Yowar in Jayapura have been ordered to provide the necessary instruments and supplies for the program, but will receive funding from the 2012 regional budget, Edison said.

“The instruments will be distributed among the clinics of districts because the program not only covers people in towns, but also villagers.”

According to KPA data, HIV/AIDS affects Papuans of all different backgrounds, from sex workers to housewives to even a handful of religious leaders.

“Those prove that the handling of HIV/AIDS is the collective responsibility of society, religious leaders, indigenous leaders, youths and also government,” Edison said.

Antara
Papua to Require Male Circumcision in AIDS Fight | The Jakarta Globe

[BobR]

Great, so it is better to be a helmet head than to be an anteater.

[spudge]

Mountain out of a mohel..

[kingwilly]

The World Health Organization has said that male circumcision, performed by well-trained professionals in sterile settings, can reduce the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men by 60 percent.

I'm not sure that's true or accurate, my recollection was that there was a minor reduction in risk, not 60%.

“Therefore, the obligatory circumcision will be regulated in 2012, to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in Papua,” Edison said on Sunday.

Force Papua to become Islamic ?

[Thetyim]

I'm not sure that's true or accurate, my recollection was that there was a minor reduction in risk, not 60%.

"Studies linking male circumcision and AIDS are conflicting. Two studies completed in 2006 in Kenya and Uganda concluded that male circumcision had a 48% - 53% protective effect against HIV over a 14 month period, and an earlier published Auvert Study (criticized for having methodology flaws and overly optimistic conclusions) found that circumcision reduced HIV transmission in South African men by 63% over a period of 21 months. The multi-country Mishra study concluded that circumcision may actually increase transmission of the AIDS virus, however, which is what many earlier studies found. The Brewer Study published in March 2007, also concluded that circumcision in Kenya, Lesotho, and Tanzania increases the transmission of AIDS, and the Connolly study published in November 2008 found that circumcised men in South Africa are just as likely to be HIV-positive as uncircumcised men."
Source: http://mgmbill.org/aids.htm

The desensitization of the penis that frequently results from male circumcision is likely to make men less willing to use condoms. A program of male circumcision may very likely worsen the epidemic.

[kingwilly]

Ta, that's more or less what I thought. (though I didnt realise the numbers of those three studies were actually that high)

Countries like USA, Australia where circumcision is widespread (thought changing) still have similar levels of countries where it is not so widespread, so the hypothesis has a ways to go...

[Gerbil]

[I]
A man in a Spiderman costume attempting to entertain a young boy during a mass circumcision ceremony at the House of Representatives in Jakarta recently.

I thought you had to be a complete prick to dress up as spiderman?

[kingwilly]

A man in a Spiderman costume attempting to entertain a young boy during a mass circumcision ceremony at the House of Representatives in Jakarta recently.

I dont think it is really working all that well.

[BobR]

Insertive (male) penile-vaginal intercourse 5 in 10000 (0.05%)[38][39]

The Wikipedia article on HIV makes for some interesting reading, according to it, quoting the American CDC, for every 10,000 encounters of vaginal sex with an HIV Pos woman only 5 male infections will result. The chances seem quite low for a man catching it from a woman overall.

[Thetyim]

Countries like USA, Australia where circumcision is widespread (thought changing) still have similar levels of countries where it is not so widespread,

Any figures for Israel ?

[tuktukdriver]

I saw a map of Africa recently that showed HIV rate and also circumcision rate. The areas where circumcision was high tended to have low HIV rates.

Compare Thailand and the Philippines. Thailand has a very low circumcision rate of 13% and the Philippines is very high at 93%. Thailand's HIV rate is much higher than the Phils.

[kingwilly]

Compare Thailand and the Philippines. Thailand has a very low circumcision rate of 13% and the Philippines is very high at 93%. Thailand's HIV rate is much higher than the Phils.

that was scientific.

FACT.

[Gallowspole]

I was speaking to a short-sighted circumsisor the other day. He had just got the sack.

[boatboy]

That creepy fuker in the costume would probably freak me out more that the quack playing with my knob