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

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By Vusumuzi Sifile


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