New hope to fight AIDS was born In Swaziland; controlled trials have shown a dramatic 65% reduction in heterosexual HIV infection to circumcised men. That means that a form of prevention has been found. Circumcision is a relatively simple and inexpensive procedure. The ramifications of the findings therefore, are truly ground breaking. It's a fact that circumcising adult males will immediately and directly decrease transmission from infected females to their male partners, and also indirectly protect negative women from infection. The implications of this relatively simple solution, however partial, are enormous. Very simply- fewer men will be living with HIV so fewer people will be contracting the disease. The revolutionary findings in Swaziland are already being implemented in South Africa. With the full support of the government, an innovative two week training course was put into place in August 2010 to produce local medical teams that would be able to perform high volume and high quality medical male circumcisions . The program is conducted in Kwazulu-Natal under the leadership of St. Mary’s Hospital with the technical support of an international medical team. So far the course has trained two teams, involving 5 doctors and 12 nurses to perform over 50 adult male circumcisions per day. They are already hard at work. There is indeed new hope in the face of the crippling AIDS pandemic and it is everything that treatment has proven not to be – preventative, practical, efficient and cheap.
August 2010
Young adults from Durban (South Africa), on their way to the clinic, in order to go through the circumcision procedure.
The entrance of the clinic.
Waiting for the medical tests to start.
Measuring the warmth of the body.
An international team member, talks to local medical staff in the clinic, before the beginning of a circumcision procedure.
Young adults waiting at the entrance of the operation room for their turn.
Minutes before the circumcision procedure begins.
The circumcision procedure is being performed b they local medical team.
The anaesthetics is working during the procedure.
A young adult who fainted just before is procedure began, is being transferred to the recovery room.
Bed sheets after a circumcision procedure in the clinic.
A young adult who went through the circumcision procedure, at the recovery room in the clinic.
One of the international team medical doctors, waiting for the next patient to come into the operation room.
Young adults who went through the circumcision procedure earlier in the day, being taken back home via transportation provided by the clinic.
Young adults who went through the circumcision procedure earlier in the day, walking back home.
One of the many beaches in Durban, South Africa, where the circumcision clinic is located.
The international medical team, taking a break , during a day of circumcisions.