IRIN's PlusNews is reporting that Rwanda is rolling out circumcision in the military because military men "are adult enough to give consent" and to set an example that " if young men see that soldiers are willing to suffer the pain of circumcision, they will also get the courage to do it." Yeah, it hurts. As it should. Currently, circumcised men have a higher rate of HIV in Rwanda than intact men. That number will change dramatically, but not quickly as qualified personnel to perform the procedure are in short supply. The statistic-ignorant Elévanie Nyankesha can rest smugly at that result, and will likely call it "proof" and a "success."
"People must be made aware that although circumcision is beneficial, there is still a 40 percent risk of HIV transmission, so they must know that it must be used in conjunction with another HIV prevention method, such as condom use," - Elévanie Nyankesha, HIV prevention coordinator of TRAC PLUS.
Stupid is as stupid believes, I guess. A four in ten chance of HIV acquisition is of course not at all what the studies suggested or the very motivated circumcised American authors argued.
"We recently interviewed 70 men at one of the army's VCT [voluntary counselling and testing] centres and, surprisingly, it turned out that 55 of them had already been circumcised either for hygiene reasons, to prevent other diseases or because they believed it would improve their sexual performance." - Dr Charles Murego, director of medical services in the Ministry of Defence.
And then stupid is as stupid does as the foregoing bit about "sexual performance" amply demonstrates. Can't save Africa and Africans from themselves. Just can't do it. And the circumcised American authors of the circ studies were counting on it.
Perhaps the minority of Africans who respect genital integrity will be lost. The good news so far is that circumcision is still recognized as a uniquely American and religious fetish in most of the world. Hopefully, this will remain the case.
