Policy on circumcision for Aids fight coming

As the world today marks the International Aids Day, the government has said that a policy that would guide planned mass male circumcision as one of the recommended HIV/Aids prevention measures is under formulation. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently recommended male circumcision as one of the measures that reduce on the risks of contracting HIV during sexual intercourse.The State Minister for HIV/Aids and other Infectious Diseases, Dr Innocent Nyaruhirira, said this week that that the Cabinet tasked the Aids Treatment and Research Center (TRAC) to draft the national policy.“The assignment was given to TRAC. A team of doctors will also identify, differentiate and categorise people that would undergo circumcision depending on their age,” he explained.“It (circumcision) is a minor operation but not simple and it is in this regard that the government wants to hold professional training for doctors at all district hospitals that would carry out the exercise,” Nyaruhirira added. The minister added: “There are many technical methods of carrying out this exercise. We have to first come with the best method and there after we would plan the training.“The government and World Health Organisation are in consultations to have as many doctors train in this field as possible.” The Director of TRAC, Dr Anita Asiimwe said that circumcision had been approved by several researches as a strategy for reducing HIV/Aids prevalence rate.Last year, three studies conducted in Uganda, Kenya and South Africa found that male circumcision reduces a man’s risk of being infected by HIV. Two months ago, the US Secretary for Health and Human Services (HSS) Mike Leavitt announced that the US’ President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) would fund male circumcision programmes in its 15 focus countries worldwide, Rwanda include.And the Deputy Director of Pepfar, Thomas Kenyon, told a videoconference in Kigali on Monday that the US strongly believes that male circumcision can make a difference.The WHO has repeatedly called on policymakers especially in African countries to consider using male circumcision to contain the HIV scourge, which is more prevalent in Sub-Saharan region. But some countries have been slow on this recommendation, with most of the leaders worried that the news might instead fuel irresponsible sexual behaviors. The Rwandan government has warned that male circumcision only reduces HIV/Aids infection risk by 60 percent, saying the circumcision itself is not a visa irresponsible sexual intercourse. There are widespread concerns that desperate and poor men might rush to unqualified medical personnel for circumcision, which might result into other health hazards. The national PEPFAR coordinator in the National Aids Control Commission (CNLS), Emeritha Karwera said male circumcision would be conducted on voluntary basis starting with the military and university students. Last year’s government statistics put HIV/Aids prevalence rate to slightly above 3 percent.Ends