MALE CIRCUMCISION UNDER SCRUTINY
	The relation between male circumcision and HIV/AIDS prevention came under scrutiny at a one-day consultative meeting held in Maseru on Tuesday. The meeting saw a diversity of stakeholders discussing the latest evidence on male circumcision and HIV prevention at global, regional and country level, the implications of the practice within Lesotho context, as well as strategies for follow-up for programming. Attendees accepted that, much as studies have shown that male circumcision lessens the risk of HIV infection, it is essential that the practice not replace other known effective means of reducing infection., such as abstinence, sex between people who both know they are negative, avoiding concurrent sexual relationships and correct and consistent use of condoms. The director-general of Health Services, Dr Tlhabi Moorosi, pointed out that despite the strength of medical data, considerable debate remains about the potential role of male circumcision as a public health measure to prevent HIV infection. Dr Moorosi said, according to the Demographic and Health Survey of Lesotho of 2004, the relationship between circumcision and HIV levels in Lesotho does not conform to the pattern seen elsewhere in Africa. He said HIV rates are in fact substantially higher among circumcised men (23 percent) than among males who are not circumcised (15 percent). Traditionalists who attended the meeting highlighted the need to galvanize practitioners of traditional male circumcision into conscientiously taking part in curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS, without necessarily delving into the sensitivities associated with the practice in Lesotho. They also called for a thin line to be drawn between male circumcision and initiation. Lesotho does not have statistics on the prevalence of male circumcision, but generally it is estimated that less than 20 percent of men in Southern Africa are circumcised, between 50 percent and 80 percent in East Africa and 80 percent or more in most of the rest of the continent. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), male circumcision is attracting heightened attention and scientific scrutiny now because studies show that circumcised men have lower levels of HIV infection than uncircumcised men. Also, HIV prevalence is generally lower among populations that traditionally practice male circumcision than in those where most men are not circumcised. WHO says three trial studies in Eastern and Southern Africa have been undertaken (two of them are still ongoing) in recent years to assess through controlled research the benefits of male circumcision in preventing HIV transmission. The study in South Africa's Gauteng province was halted earlier than planned because the results very strongly indicated that circumcision was protective against transmission. It adds that if the two trials still underway in Kenya and Uganda involving eight thousand men produce results similar to those in South Africa, male circumcision will join tools such as male and female condoms as key means to prevent HIV infection.
	Source: LENA