lunedì 22 luglio 2013

Circumcision Status and HIV

JAIDS
December 15, 2007

Circumcision Status and HIV Infection Among Black and Latino Men Who Have Sex With Men in 3 US Cities.

Millett, Gregorio A; Ding, Helen; Lauby, Jennifer; Flores, Stephen; Stueve, Ann; Bingham, Trista; Carballo-Dieguez, Alex; Murrill, Chris; Liu, Kai-Lih; Wheeler, Darrell; Liau, Adrian; Marks, Gary Abstract:
Objective: To examine characteristics of circumcised and uncircumcised Latino and black men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States and assess the association between circumcision and HIV infection.
   
Methods: Using respondent-driven sampling, 1154 black MSM and 1091 Latino MSM were recruited from New York City, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. A 45-minute computer-assisted interview and a rapid oral fluid HIV antibody test (OraSure Technologies, Bethlehem, PA) were administered to participants.     Results: Circumcision prevalence was higher among black MSM than among Latino MSM (74% vs. 33%; P < 0.0001). Circumcised MSM in both racial/ethnic groups were more likely than uncircumcised MSM to be born in the United States or to have a US-born parent. Circumcision status was not associated with prevalent HIV infection among Latino MSM, black MSM, black bisexual men, or black or Latino men who reported being HIV-negative based on their last HIV test. Further, circumcision was not associated with a reduced likelihood of HIV infection among men who had engaged in unprotected insertive and not unprotected receptive anal sex. Conclusions: In these cross-sectional data, there was no evidence that being circumcised was protective against HIV infection among black MSM or Latino MSM. JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. 46(5):643-650, December 15, 2007.

sabato 20 luglio 2013

ZIMBABWE: Circumcision funds ilde as men reject being cut, health system in crisis

Men are not buying it....

Zimbabwe's circumcision drive fails to take off

HARARE, 8 July 2013 (IRIN) - Funds for the male circumcision programme in Zimbabwe are lying idle, as the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare says not enough men are coming forward to use the service, which was launched as part of an HIV-prevention package.
[This is a scandalous waste when Zimbabwe's health system is in such a crisis. Eight women and 100 children die daily from pregnancy/birth complications.]

Following the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), Zimbabwe introduced the male circumcision programme in November 2009. The government plans to circumcise about 3 million men by the end of 2015, but the target may be overly ambitious, as less than 10 percent of the targeted population has yet been circumcised.

ZIMBABWE: Circumcision funds ilde as men reject being cut, health system in crisis

A huge challenge in the promotion of male circumcision is that Zimbabwe is traditionally not a circumcising country. The practice is common among only a few communities in Zimbabwe, particularly the Shangani tribe of Chiredzi, in the Lowveld part of the country.
...
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights HIV/AIDS manager Tinashe Mundawarara has called for research into the reasons behind the programme’s low uptake.
“If there is that much belief in male circumcision out there, demand would have been overwhelming. Traditional social marketing has failed to push it in the manner it has done in the promotion of condom use,” said Mundawarara.
...
“We need to talk more as stakeholders. We need to talk more as the Zimbabwean community about these issues because the rates of male circumcision are really low,” said Shomiliana.
Zimbabwe has received about $15 million from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for voluntary medical circumcision.

martedì 16 luglio 2013

Sudafrica, morti 27 ragazzi a causa della circoncisione





Sudafrica, morti 27 ragazzi dopo il rito della circoncisione

Le vittime tra i 13 e i 21 anni.

Morti dopo essere stati sottoposti alla circoncisione rituale. Le vittime sono 27, ragazzi tra i 13 i 21 anni. E' successo in Sudafrica, e adesso il presidente sudafricano Jacob Zuma ha chiesto alla polizia di fare chiarezza sull'accaduto. Decessi che secondo i guaritori tradizionali sarebbero avvenuti per negligenza. Il colonnello della polizia, Leonard Hlathi ha precisato che sono state aperte delle inchieste per omicidio, ma fino ad ora non c'è stato alcun arresto nè capo di accusa.

«NEGLIGENZE» - «Abbiamo avuto 27 morti», ha proseguito la stessa fonte aggiornando il bilancio che in precedenza era fermo a 23, dopo la morte di quattro altri ragazzi nella provincia di Mpumalanga. Le vittime avevano tutte tra i 13 e i 21 anni e hanno tutte perso la vita nelle «scuole di iniziazione» nella stessa provincia del nord-est del Paese. «Abbiamo la prova che ci sono state delle negligenze», ha aggiunto da parte sua Kgoshi Mathiblea Mokoena, capofila dei leader tradizionali della zona. I riti di iniziazione, tipici delle etnie Xhosas, Sothos e Ndebeles, hanno causato centinaia di morti negli ultimi anni in Sudafrica, malgrado gli sforzi delle autorità di cercare di inculcare fondamentali regole di igiene ai guaritori tradizionali.

L'INIZIAZIONE - «Salutiamo l'azione della polizia - ha detto Zuma -, ma chiediamo che sia fatta giustizia e che i responsabili delle morti siano portati davanti ai tribunali». Oltre alla circoncisione, l'iniziazione prevede che i giovani trascorrano diverse settimane nella foresta per insegnare loro i valori del coraggio e della disciplina.




FONTE: http://www.corriere.it/esteri/13_maggio_21...89c3421dc.shtml

lunedì 15 luglio 2013

Nawal El Saadawi

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Attivista del Mese di Luglio

Nawal El Saadawi (Arabic: نوال السعداوى‎, born October 27, 1931) is an Egyptian feminist writer, activist, physician and psychiatrist. She has written many books on the subject of women in Islam, paying particular attention to the practice of female genital cutting in her society.

She is founder and president of the Arab Women's Solidarity Association and co-founder of the Arab Association for Human Rights. She has been awarded honorary degrees on three continents. In 2004, she won the North-South prize from the Council of Europe. In 2005, the Inana International Prize in Belgium.

Nawal el Saadawi has held positions of Author for the Supreme Council for Arts and Social Sciences, Cairo; Director General of the Health Education Department, Ministry of Health, Cairo, Secretary General of Medical Association, Cairo, Egypt, and Medical Doctor, University Hospital and Ministry of Health. She is the founder of Health Education Association and the Egyptian Women Writer’s Association; she was Chief Editor of Health Magazine in Cairo, Egypt and Editor of Medical Association Magazine


Advocacy against genital mutilation

At a young age, Saadawi underwent the process of female genital mutilation.[16] As an adult she has written about and criticized this practice. She responded to the death of a 12-year old girl, Bedour Shaker, during a genital circumcision operation in 2007 by writing: "Bedour, did you have to die for some light to shine in the dark minds? Did you have to pay with your dear life a price ... for doctors and clerics to learn that the right religion doesn't cut children's organs." As a doctor and human rights activist, Saadawi is also opposed to male genital mutilation (circumcision). She believes that both male and female children deserve protection from genital mutilation.

FONTE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nawal_El_Saadawi


Is Female Genital Mutilation still an issue in Egypt?

It certainly is! Female genital mutilation is still a serious problem in Egypt, despite the fact that a law was passed to ban this practice, the number of circumcisions has not decreased. The rate of circumcisions amongst young girls is 97%. The government is not serious about banning this practice, nor is the media, they don’t care about the health of young women or girls. It is a corrupt government – they don’t care. They only passed the law to avoid a scandal after a film was shown of a young girl being circumcised and bleeding to death. They are not serious about it. I am still censored on Egyptian television when I speak about this issue in Egypt. Male circumcision is a problem too, I am against that as well, as a doctor. There has been no progress on this front.


FONTE: www.theglobaldispatches.com/articles/nawal-al-saadawi

venerdì 12 luglio 2013

MALAWI: Men resist being circumcised

Malawi: Kasungu Registers Low Turnout for Male Circumcision

by Steven Chirombo
Blantyre — Kasungu Health Authorities have expressed concern that a few men are undergoing voluntary male circumcision in the district despite studies showing that the intervention reduces HIV transmission by about 60 percent.
District Medical Officer for Kasungu, Dr Sosten Lankhulani told the Malawi News Agency (Mana) that within the past two years, only 400 men have been circumcised in the district against the annual target of 21, 000.
"We are not fairing very well in terms of male circumcision because our target has been to have at least 21, 000 population circumcised every year.
"But in our district only 400 men have undergone circumcision for the past two years," said Lankhulani.
According to Lankhulani, there are a lot of factors that contribute to the low turnout in the district some of which could be wrong messages being propagated and also the perception of some other men regarding the circumcision itself.
"There are misconceptions bordering on culture and the health perspective about circumcision. We are dispatching several messages for example at the hospital where we are doing health education to the people who have come for medical consultation.
"Every morning we send health surveillance assistants to dispatch the messages to the community and we have engaged the chiefs as well as some religious leaders to deliver the message to the community," he said.
He said currently, the health officials in the district are advocating for the male circumcision because they are aware that it reduces the risk of HIV transmission by about 60 percent which according to Lankhulani is a fair percentage looking at the prevalence rate of HIV in the country.
Malawi
HIV Rates: Circumcised men 13.2%
Intact men 9.5%
Source: www.measuredhs.com

lunedì 8 luglio 2013

CHICAGO: $1.3 million for botched circumcision

Jury awards $1.3M for newborn's botched circumcision: attorneys

A baby who suffered a partial amputation of his penis during a botched circumcision performed when he was 12 hours old has been awarded a judgment of more than $1.3 million, according to attorneys for the child’s family.
The verdict was returned to the family of the boy, now 5, by a Cook County jury on Tuesday, according to a statement from the family’s attorneys.
Defendant Marc S. Feldstein, M.D., delivered Daniel Burden on Oct. 4, 2007, at Northwestern Memorial’s Prentice Women’s Hospital, the statement said. The following morning, during a circumcision procedure, a portion of the distal tip of the boy’s penis was inadvertently amputated, according to the statement from the attorneys.
The child was rushed to Children’s Memorial Hospital, where a pediatric urologist successfully re-attached it. Though he will be left with moderate scarring and is at risk for altered nerve sensation in the affected area, his penis should be fully functional, the statement said.
The trial began May 16 and ended Tuesday with the jury awarding the family $1,357,901.12, according to the statement.
“I’m sure that [the boy] will be grateful that this injury was not as devastating as it could have been,” attorney Timothy Tomasik of Tomasik Kotin Kasserman said in the statement. [He could have been even more grateful if his genitals had been simply left alone.] “But he will always be different, and that is something he has to live with for the rest of his life.”
Northwestern didn’t immediately comment on the case.