At least one major study in Africa has shown male circumcision mitigates the risk of female-to-male transmission of AIDS by 60 percent. Leaders like Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and policymakers are looking into ways to introduce the practice into the worst AIDS-hit regions of the world.
While former President Clinton spoke to 6,000 delegates at the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto, he mentioned, "If research shows it saves lives, we have to be prepared to deal with it."
He emphasized that the means of offering the often cultural controversial practice needs to be offered in "safe, rapid and comprehensive ways."
Scientists reported at the meeting that if the 60 percent protection rate is realistic, programs that conduct safe circumcision in Africa could have a profound impact of saving thousands of lives by means of a very cost-effective method.
Professor James McIntyre of the University of the Witwatersrand in Soweto, South Africa, said hospitals are now recording an increase in men requesting circumcision.
McIntyre told the San Francisco Chronicle, "If, for example, a vaginal gel, or microbicide, were found to protect 60 percent of the women using it, we'd be out promoting it...I should think we should at least be planning how to do a scale-up (of circumcision)."
James Kahn, UCSF researcher said, "As male circumcision is scaled up, it's an important opportunity to study economics as well as effectiveness.'' Kahn believes it could be done for $55 per man, which would amount to $2,400 in medical costs for every preventable infection.
