Cut it off

CUT IT OFF: Several studies in Africa have confirmed the fact that men who have been circumcised have less chance of contracting the HIV virus. Since African Muslims are much more likely to be circumcised than are Christians, predominately Muslim areas such as Senegal and northern Nigeria have a lower rater of HIV than more Christian areas.

Christian groups don't prohibit the practice, but circumcisions are much less common among them. Getting more males to accept the procedure could help turn the tide of the AIDS epidemic. The challenge for health authorities is to make circumcisions medically safe in regions where there are few doctors, scant medical supplies and minimal health regulations, and where ritual circumcisers do the procedure without sterilization or even bandages and where quacks take advantage of a commercial opportunity. The U.S. has promised financial assistance through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Wall Street Journal, September 7).

COPYRIGHT 2007 The Christian Century Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning