Soka Uncobe: Our US Tax Dollars at Work

In an earlier post, I talked about how the promotion of circumcision as HIV prevention policy is confusing Africans, confounding HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, as predicted.

Earlier Story:
http://joseph4gi.blogspot.com/2011/05/male-circumcision-and-hiv-in-africa.html

Towards the end, I present an article where the circumcision campaign Soka Uncobe is turning out to be a disaster, and the ministry of health tries to shamelessly justify itself.
http://www.observer.org.sz/index.php?news=24311

Upon further investigation, it turns out this campaign is being funded and aided in great part by America's PEPFAR.
http://swaziland.usembassy.gov/pr32212.html

It seems the United States is funding the deliberate miseducation of African people.
Swaziland was one of many countries where HIV transmission was found to be more prevalent among CIRCUMCISED men.

"As Table 14.10 shows, the relationship between HIV prevalence and circumcision status is not in the expected direction. Circumcised men have a slightly higher HIV infection rate than men who are not circumcised (22 percent compared with 20 percent)".
http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pdf/FR202/FR202.pdf

What in the world are our leaders thinking?

With what audacity do we hand out millions to promote an HIV "prevention method" that never worked in our own country?
http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/1998/19981125_global_epidemic_report_en.pdf

How in the world is it logical to promote a dubious "prevention method" that discourages the use of the most effective prevention method known to us?

I simply can't believe the level to which they're sinking. This campaign is not about HIV prevention, it's about coercing and berating men into getting a permanent surgical procedure with dubious "benefits" they may not need nor want. It's not about preventing more HIV cases, it's clearly about fulfilling a quota, at the expense of Swazi youth.

I feel sorry for those Swazi men and youth; it must be utterly humiliating to be approached to be asked about what are supposed to be your private parts, and to be made to feel like you're failing your country if you don't submit; like they actually care about your health and not about fulfilling a quota for your donors. What utter shame and disrespect for the men of Swaziland. What if you are married and faithful to your wife?

As I have shown in my last post on this subject, what we said would happen is already happening, and circumcision is proving to be a needless nuisance. Men are already using circumcision as an excuse to forgo condoms. When HIV workers try to talk to the men about condoms, the response is "It's OK doc, I'm circumcised, so I've already conquered HIV."

This project is going to fail. When it does, and the number of AIDS cases rises, will we be responsible? Or, like the Swaziland ministry of health, will we try to justify this horrendous mistake? Or will we continue to lie to the Swazi people and to pump millions into worthless genital mutilation to save face?

I am ashamed that this is what my tax dollars are being used for, the needless genital mutilation of African men and children.