Circumcision drive ‘would save cash, lives’ :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Circumcision drive ‘would save cash, lives’

Posted by admin on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 - 09:38 AM

Tamar Kahn - Science and Health Editor
CAPE TOWN — Introducing male circumcision programmes to African countries hard hit by HIV/AIDS could save billions of dollars, according to a new study published this week by the Public Library of Science (PloS) journal.
Three recent African studies have shown that male circumcision cuts the risk of HIV transmission up to 60%, raising hopes that the procedure could be incorporated into HIV-prevention programmes. SA has one of the world’s worst HIV/AIDS epidemics, with more than 5,5-million people infected with the disease, and many local experts regard male circumcision as a potential tool for preventing more infections. About 35% of South African men are circumcised, according to a 2002 study by the Human Sciences Research Council. The same researchers who conducted a key study in Orange Farm near Johannesburg last year have now calculated that the costs of providing circumcision services to 1000 men in Gauteng would prevent 300 new HIV infections over 20 years, saving $2,4m in AIDS treatment. Greater savings could be expected if large-scale male circumcision programmes were implemented, as there would be economies of scale, said study co-author Bertran Auvert, of the French National Health and Medical Research Agency. “The point is you will save money in the long term by spending now …,” he said. After the Orange Farm study was published, the World Health Organisation (WHO) advised countries to wait for the results of trials in Uganda and Kenya before designing policies. Those two studies, published earlier this month, found male circumcision cut the risk of HIV transmission by half. The WHO and the United Nations joint agency on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, are expected to hold a meeting on the issue next month, said Auvert. “I have no doubt their recommendation will be to make safe male circumcision available where HIV prevalence is high…,” he said, noting that Zambia had already decided to promote the procedure as part of its HIV-prevention programmes. Several independent studies indicated that between 50% and 80% of uncircumcised men would be willing to undergo the procedure in order to lower the risk of HIV infection, he said. The health department has previously said it was waiting for the Uganda and Kenyan trial results before formulating a policy on the issue. Experts have emphasised the challenge of communicating the benefits of male circumcision, as the procedure offers only partial protection against HIV. “For the first time there is really good news for Africa on HIV, but the challenge is implementation,” said Auvert. “It is a complementary prevention tool — it’s not going to replace condoms or (voluntary counselling and testing),” he said. In an interview with Reuters, Auvert’s co-author, James Kahn, said male circumcision could save as much as $5bn over 10 years if it was implemented throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

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