US Funds Circumcision to Fight AIDS in Zimbabwe

Since May 2009, Zimbabwe has campaigned to circumcise more than 1 million men in a bid to fight HIV transmission. The program, which the United States supported with $6.6 million in its first year, has circumcised 12,000 men already. The procedure has been shown to reduce the risk of female-to-male HIV infection by 60 percent, noted Dr. Bill Jansen, a senior advisor with the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The United States has pledged further assistance as the circumcision program expands. The United States is the biggest contributor to modern AIDS clinics in Zimbabwe, which have tested and counseled more than 2 million people. An additional $50 million US pledge made this month will go toward broader Zimbabwean AIDS programs, including AIDS treatment.

At a clinic in western Harare, nurses recently unpacked some of the 60,000 one-time circumcision kits provided by USAID. The packs contain forceps, disposable scalpels, needles, and gauze. The nurses gave a local anesthetic to Tineyi Marokwe, 32, as the surgeon, Shame Dendere, surgically removed Marokwe's foreskin in about 10 minutes.

Clinic workers told Marokwe that as the anesthetic wore off, he could expect to feel some minor pain, and that he should abstain from sex for six weeks for the wound to heal. He was asked to come back three times for follow-up treatment.

"I was worried, but when I came here I learned this could save my life," said Marokwe, "I'm going to tell all of my friends."

The US subsidizes most of the cost of the procedures, which are provided free to patients. Donors also include the International Population Services group and other health care charities.

If 1.2 million Zimbabwean men were circumcised by 2017, an estimated 750,000 HIV infections could be prevented, said Jansen. Organizers hope that someday the program will provide infant male circumcision.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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