Why did the Wold Health Organization (WHO) and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) endorse male circumcision as a public health initiative for HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa?

Abstract

Abstract The debates surrounding male circumcision and HIV prevention have been diverse ranging from religious, medical, ethical, cultural, political and financial. The arguments have been complex and varied depending on what academic and medical discipline one prescribes to and furthermore one’s ideology of the epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. This research will explain why on March 28, 2007 WHO and UNAIDS endorsed male circumcision as a public health initiative for HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa. By understanding how WHO and UNAIDS assessed and evaluated the evidence, it may clarify if all or some of the debates and concerns associated with male circumcision and HIV prevention were justified and warrant further analysis. Furthermore, the research may provide insight into how male circumcision will affect the universal fight towards improving overall population health in Africa.