Circumcision and HIV

Evidence supports that male circumcision prevents HIV infection in men who have sex with women. In 2011, the WHO and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) stated that male circumcision could be an efficacious intervention for HIV prevention if carried out by well trained medical professionals and under clean conditions. The United States Disease Control Center states that circumcision reduces the risk that a man will acquire HIV and other STIs from an infected female partner.

A meta-analysis of data from fifteen observational studies of men who have sex with men found "insufficient evidence that male circumcision protects against HIV infection or other STIs." The CDC concludes "There are as yet no convincing data to help determine whether male circumcision will have any effect on HIV risk for men who engage in anal sex with either a female or male partner, as either the insertive or receptive partner."

A 2008 meta-analysis of 53,567 gay and bisexual men (52% circumcised) found that the rate of HIV infection was non-significantly lower among men who were circumcised compared with those who were uncircumcised. For men who engaged primarily in insertive anal sex, a protective effect was observed, but it too was not statistically significant. Observational studies included in the meta-analysis that were conducted prior to the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy in 1996 demonstrated a statistically significant protective effect for circumcised MSM against HIV infection.

In 2007 the World Health Organization (WHO) reviewed the evidence that had accumulated around male circumcision and HIV. The WHO and UNAIDS issued joint recommendations concerning male circumcision and HIV/AIDS. These recommendations are:

Kim Dickson, coordinator of the working group that authored the report, commented:

In 2013, WHO announced that Prepex, a non-surgical device, had been pre-qualified for the purpose of adult male circumcision for HIV prevention. The device is expected to scale up voluntary medical male circumcision in priority countries, where HIV programmes have been facing challenges due to the shortage of skilled providers performing the conventional surgical procedure. WHO further suggests that devices may have the potential to make the procedure safer, easier and quicker since it also allows other types of trained health workers (e.g. nurses) to perform the circumcision.

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Wikipedia