Study on Effectiveness of Circumcision Tremendous News, Says Global AIDS Alliance

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GLOBAL AIDS ALLIANCE

Study on Effectiveness of Circumcision “Tremendous News,” Says Global AIDS Alliance

Contact: Bryden, 1-202-549-3554

Washington, December 13 -- Today the US National Institutes of Health announced that men who undergo circumcision can reduce by one-half their risk of acquiring HIV.

Zeitz, Executive Director of the Global AIDS Alliance, made the following comment:

"We have to make sure men understand that circumcision will not fully protect them. To protect themselves fully, men must still use condoms correctly and consistently while also reducing the number of their concurrent sexual partners, ideally to one. That said, this is tremendous news, and circumcision could help millions of men avoid infection. If HIV prevalence is reduced among men this will, in turn, help millions of women who are at risk of acquiring the virus from men.

The role of WHO in setting global standards is critical to the proper implementation of expanded access to circumcision. It is absolutely essential that the global community work quickly to strengthen the World Health Organization as it issues guidelines on the procedure and provides countries with assistance and training. It makes no sense that WHO is facing a large a budgetary shortfall -- $120 million as of August 2006. For WHO to provide the essential support to countries as they make circumcision more available, it will need the full support of major donor countries, including the US.

The procedure provides a major opportunity to expand access to other, essential prevention strategies, since men can also receive condoms and full prevention education when they access circumcision. However, more funding for existing prevention methods must be increased. The global community has promised universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention by 2010, yet existing, effective means of prevention still reach only a fraction of those in need.

Circumcision must be implemented with care and with cultural sensitivity, and countries will need to ensure the procedure is always carried out ethically and in a safe manner, with sterile instruments and proper follow-up care. Additional health care workers may be needed to implement this procedure, and all implementers will need proper training. The procedure must always be carried out in conjunction with comprehensive HIV prevention education."

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=========================================== BrydenGlobal AIDS Alliance, Communications Director1413 K Street NW, 4th floorWashington, DC 20005202-789-0432 ext 211mobile: 202-549-3664fax: 202-789-0715dbryden@...