C-Change
C-Change works with Kenya's government agencies and local and international non-governmental organizations to scale-up mass circumcision programs. The program is funded by U.S. tax dollars.[1]
Contents
U.S. funding
C-Change is funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).[1]
Male Circumcision Communication Toolkit
C-Change is supporting the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) program of the Government of Kenya (GOK) and providing technical support to the National VMMC task force and regional communication sub-committees. The goal is to create demand for VMMC and reinforce the incorrect notion that Male Circumcision reduces risk for men. C-Change developed the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Communication Toolkit. Materials in the toolkit include billboards, posters, video, flip charts for circumcision providers, radio spots, faith and business leaders, dialogue cards, and a handbook for community mobilizers. C-Change continues to develop materials for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision that include tools for coalition building, media outreach, advocacy with policymakers, monitoring and evaluation, and materials for circumcising communities. C-Change is also developing an adaptation guide for material development to facilitate scale-up of circumcision. Critical to the circumcision program is the National Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision task force. As part of this task force, C-Change has developed a wide range of communication messages and materials that promote circumcision. They work to popularize the idea that male circumcision prevents HIV.[1]
Male Circumcision Communication Activities
An alliance of equipped teams circumcised over 25,000 men in western Kenya in November–December 2009. The Government of Kenya aims to circumcise 60% of men in Nyanza Province by 2014. Kenya made this commitment after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that countries should incorporate male circumcision into national HIV prevention strategies.[1]
Goals
C-Change lists it's goals as the following: [1]
- Family planning and reproductive health
- Malaria prevention
- Male Circumcision
- HIV prevention activities
Population-based studies
September 2021 saw the publication of two huge population studies on the relationship of circumcision and HIV infection:
- Mayan et al. (2021) carried out a massive empirical study of the male population of the province of Ontario, Canada (569,950 males), of whom 203,588 (35.7%) were circumcised between 1991 and 2017. The study concluded that circumcision status is not related to risk of HIV infection.[2]
- Morten Frisch & Jacob Simonsen (2021) carried out a large scale empirical population study in Denmark of 855,654 males regarding the alleged value of male circumcision in preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in men. They found that circumcised men have a higher rate of STI and HIV infection overall than intact men.[3]
No association between lack of circumcision and risk of HIV infection was found by either study. There now is credible evidence that the massive, expensive African circumcision programs have not been effective in preventing HIV infection.
References
- ↑ a b c d e
USAID. C-Change: communication for change for
. - ↑
Mayan M, Hamilton RJ, Juurlink DN, Austin PC, Jarvi KA. Circumcision and Risk of HIV Among Males From Ontario, Canada. J Urol. 23 September 2021; PMID. DOI. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
Quote:We found that circumcision was not independently associated with the risk of acquiring HIV among men from Ontario, Canada.
- ↑ Frisch M, Simonsen J. Non-therapeutic male circumcision in infancy or childhood and risk of human immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted infections: national cohort study in Denmark. Eur J Epidemiol. 26 September 2021; 37: 251–9. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
