Circumcision not one giant condom

By Vusumuzi Sifile

For a few years now, male circumcision has been promoted as one of the most effective ways of reducing the spread of HIV and AIDS. Rightly so. There however seem to be a lot of misconceptions about the practice, especially among those who have taken the challenge. 

I was not so surprised recently when I read an article that the HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe was much higher among circumcised men than among those who are uncircumcised. The article attributed the high prevalence of HIV among circumcised men to the misconception that circumcision makes one immune from contracting the virus. 

There seems to be a serious misconception that “circumcision is one giant condom” that gives one a license to do all sorts of mischief as if there is no tomorrow. I have listened to the testimonies of a number of people close to me who have gone under the knife. After each testimony, I am always left suspicious that a lot of them try a little mischief after that. 

Male circumcision is not one giant condom. The fact that one has been circumcised does not suddenly make it unnecessary to carry out any other preventive measures. There seems to be this feeling that once one has been circumcised, they earn themselves a ticket to all manner of sexual mischief. 

I subscribe to the principle that statistics don’t lie. So we have to be worried, very worried with the revelation in the Zimbabwe Health Demographic Survey (ZHDS 2010/2011), that the prevalence rate among the circumcised is 14 percent while that of the uncircumcised is 12 percent. 

This is a very disturbing development. The idea behind the promotion of male circumcision is a noble one. But the approach may not really be the best, especially looking at these figures contained in the ZHDS. This is a wakeup call for all responsible citizens to play a role in terms of ensuring that the idea behind male circumcision is not distorted due to lack of information.

The problem is not male circumcision. The problem is lack of information and limited understanding of the facts around male circumcision and how it can curb the spread of HIV and AIDS. 

These statistics are a clear indication that those men who have been circumcised engage in risky behavior, thus defeating the whole purpose of the campaign.

It is commendable that Zimbabwe has carried out scientific research on this important part of the HIV response. This is a good step in the right direction. It is only through such research and dialogue that we can collectively dialogue about issues relating to development in Southern Africa. 

Circumcision is not one giant condom and should never be viewed as an alternative to other prevention measures, like abstinence, faithfulness and condom use. It is just but one of the many ways which will eventually contribute towards overcoming the effects of the HIV and AIDS epidemic.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the “magic” effects of male circumcision, and the earlier those misconceptions are cleared, the better. Otherwise it may turn out to have created a bigger problem than what the campaign set out to solve. There is need for different stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogue on male circumcision. While the idea could be a noble one, there are still some gaps that need to be addressed. The earlier some of these misconceptions are cleared, the better.

*Vusumuzi Sifile is the Communications and Knowledge Management Officer for Panos Institute Southern Africa, a regional communication for development NGO based in Lusaka, Zambia. He writes in his personal capacity. To reproduce this article, please send an email to vusa@panos.org.zm

Green economy: what are the stakes?

By Vusumuzi Sifile

Could the “green economy” be the answer to food insecurity that still reigns supreme in most parts  of Sub-Saharan Africa? With slightly over a month before the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) to be held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, “green economy” has become a buzz word. Well, in my professional circles.

Using social media to share knowledge, save lives

By Vusumuzi Sifile


Ignorance kills. The Bible, in the book of Hosiah Chapter 4 verse 6 tells us that people are destroyed (or perish) for lack of knowledge. As a communications professional, I strongly believe that to have information and share it is not only empowering, but also lifesaving. To have knowledge and share it may save someone from perishing. To hinder the sharing of knowledge could actually cause those for whom the information is meant to perish.

'No seed, no fertilizer, nothing,' cry farmers

BY VUSUMUZI SIFILE

CHIKOMBA — Any serious farmer gets worried when rains are delayed, even by a short while.  It is only natural that they start worrying about whether or not their seed will germinate when they finally manage to plant. But it is not so for most small-holder farmers in Chikomba, Mashonaland East.

ZIMBABWE: Numerous Challenges For Harare Water Supply

By Vusumuzi Sifile

HARARE, Nov 6 (IPS) - Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda is a troubled man. When he took office in July 2008, one of his most immediate tasks was to resolve the water crisis in the capital.

But as the year draws to an end, many areas of Harare still do not have a reliable supply of the precious liquid. Even the man who superintends thousands of households has no piped water at his own home.

WATER-ZIMBABWE : New Wells Protect Environment, Build Peace

By Vusumuzi Sifile

SHAMVA, Zimbabwe
, Oct 15 (IPS) - Twenty years ago, Isaac Chidavaenzi would worry when his neighbours set up vegetable gardens on river banks, trying to get closer to water sources. The number of gardens on the rivers' banks has now decreased, but Chidavaenzi is even more worried.

BOTSWANA: Controversy over Government Loan to Fund Privatisation

By Vusumuzi Sifile

GABORONE, Jul 10 (IPS) -Controversy has erupted over a decision by Botswana’s government to accept a loan from the African Development Bank, a departure from over two decades of running Africa’s "model economy" without borrowing.

A house divided against itself…

By Vusumuzi Sifile

The move last week by President Lt. Gen Seretse Khama Ian Khama to relieve Daniel Kwelagobe of his duties as the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration has added a new dimension to the internal politics of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).

Schools unlikely to open this week

THE government on Friday failed to commit itself to paying civil servants in foreign currency, ending hopes that striking teachers would return to work.Government announced that schools will open on Tuesday.
The APEX Council made up of the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) and the Public Service Association, representing the rest of the civil service said the government failed to offer their members anything concrete at the crucial meeting of the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC).
Teachers who have been on strike since last year demanding better pay immediately vowed not to return to work until their demands were met.
They now want to be paid in foreign currency with a minimum salary pegged at US$2 300.
The government has already been forced to delay the start of the new term by two weeks because of mounting problems in the education sector.
“Regrettably, the conditions that have incapacitated the workers from delivering service as expected continue to affect our members,” Zimta president Tendai Chikowore told journalists after the meeting.
“The workers have neither the financial resources to travel to work nor to sustain themselves.”
Chikowore, who also chairs the APEX council, said they would “continue to fail to report for duty due to circumstances emanating from incapacitation”.
Educationists said despite the government’s insistence that schools and colleges would open this week, developments on the ground pointed to a chaotic situation in the sector.
They warned schools were not ready for the new term, and going ahead would only disadvantage learners.
The challenges that forced schools to close prematurely last year have worsened this year. In addition, Grade VII results have not yet been published, which makes it impossible for all secondary schools to enrol Form Is this year.
The country’s biggest teachers’ unions — the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and Zimta — were unanimous that schools could not open under the current circumstances.
Delays by government in approving proposals by schools to charge fees in foreign currency have also worsened the situation, with parents still unsure how much their children would be required to pay two days before the proposed start of the term.
PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou said teachers would not go back to work until they were paid in foreign currency.
This month they were paid between Z$20 trillion and $50 trillion, depending on experience and qualifications.
“Unless our demands are met,” he said, “teachers will not go back to work and parents should not waste their hard-earned money paying fees for the first term.
“If they pay, they should pay knowing very well that we are not going to teach.”
Zhou said 70 000 out of Zimbabwe’s 150 000 teachers had not communicated their resignation by mid-last year.
He said 40% of those who remained were unqualified temporary teachers or youth militias, recruited to fill the gap.
Oswald Madziva, the PTUZ spokesperson, said the government lacked public support on the opening of schools and could only proceed on the strength of its “traits of arrogance, lack of consultation and accountability”.
PTUZ also accused the government of failing “to give enough information to the donor community so that it could make adequate interventions”.
Meanwhile, tertiary institutions that were expected to open tomorrow are set to face the same disruptions, with students vowing to resist paying fees in foreign currency.
“We express our deep anger and disappointment to the government on the collapse of our country’s education system,” said Blessing Vava, spokesperson of the Zimbabwe National Students Union.
“Schools and colleges are opening at a time when there is a proposal to force students to pay astronomical fees in foreign currency which is out of reach of many.
“We urge students to remain resilient and boycott paying fees in foreign currency and we demand that we pay in local currency because our parents are not earning in foreign currency.”
On Wednesday last week, students at the country’s premier education institution, the University of Zimbabwe, went on a rampage protesting against the proposed foreign currency fees.

Lawyers challenge new passport fees

By Vusumuzi Sifile

ZIMBABWE Lawyers for Human Rights last week officially complained to the Registrar-General, Tobaiwa Mudede, over the recent increase in foreign currency-denominated passport fees.This they argued was an unreasonable violation of citizens’ rights and freedoms.
Last month, the RG’s office released a schedule containing new foreign currency-denominated fees for travel documents.
Under the new charges, an adult passport costs US$670 while a child will have to pay US$607 for a passport.
To renew a passport, one has to part with US$400. The new charges are many times more than the standard fee charged in most major economies.
In a letter to Mudede on Thursday, litigation lawyer Range Nyamurundira said passports were “basic national documents to which any citizen of Zimbabwe is entitled”.
They challenged the RG to review the charges to the same levels as in neighbouring countries, failure of which would result in legal action against Mudede.
“A passport serves not only as a means of identification but for many individuals is a symbol of belonging and national pride” Nyamurundira said.
“More importantly not only is a passport a means of identification but it is also the means through which certain basic human rights can be exercised by Zimbabwean citizens.
“One such right whose enjoyment is exercised only by means of possession and use of a passport is the right to freedom of movement.”
He quoted Section 22 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which provides that: “No person shall be deprived of his freedom of movement, that is to say, the right to move freely throughout Zimbabwe, the right to reside in any part of Zimbabwe, the right to enter and to leave Zimbabwe and immunity from expulsion from Zimbabwe.”
Nyamurundira said the new fees were “not reasonably justifiable” and far beyond the reach of most Zimbabweans who have no access to foreign currency.
Giving an example of civil servants who were recently promised monthly salaries of US$50, Nyamurundira said it would take almost a year to raise enough money to acquire a passport, foregoing all other needs in one’s life.
He said cross-border traders would also be hardest hit, as the new fees “deny them the very passport that allows their livelihood by imposing exorbitant and unreasonable passport charges.” It was a severe limitation and violation of their rights and freedoms,” he said.
It could not be immediately established if Mudede received the letter, also copied to the parent Ministry of Home Affairs.