Rao Gupta
 | |
| Senior Fellow: | |
|---|---|
| Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | |
| Deputy Director: | |
| UNICEF (2011) | |
| Co-Convener: | |
| S.D.W.G.A. (UNAIDS) |
Geeta Rao Gupta (born 1956 in Mumbai, India) was the former Senior Fellow of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation[1], and is now the Deputy Director at UNICEF.[2]
Gupta actively promotes male circumcision.[3][4] Gupta also serves as co-convener of the Social Drivers Working Group of aids2031, an international initiative commissioned by UNAIDS to chart a course for a global response to AIDS over the next twenty-five years.[5][6][7]
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.[8]
- 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.[9]
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.
Two African surveys
The previously reported studies were from developed Western nations. Now we have information from Sub_Saharan Africa.
French scientist Michel Garenne, Ph.D. has published two reports in 2022 comparing the incidence of HIV infection in circumcised and intact men.
In his first report, Garenne presented the findings from a study in Lesotho, the enclave in South Africa. He reported:
In couple studies, the effect of circumcision and VMMC on HIV was not significant, with similar transmission from female to male and male to female. The study questions the amount of effort and money spent on VMMC in Lesotho.[10]
In his second report, Garenne (2022) presented information from six Sub-Saharan African nations (Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe). He reported:
"Results matched earlier observations made in South Africa that circumcised and intact men had similar levels of HIV infection."[11]
See also
- UNICEF -- Gupta is Executive Deputy Director
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- Gupta was Senior Fellow
- UNAIDS -- Gupta serves as co-convener of the Social Drivers Working Group
- Stephen H. Lewis -- Former Deputy Director at UNICEF
- United States of America
External links
Wikipedia article: Geeta Rao Gupta. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
References
- ↑ Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (8 October 2009).
Geeta Rao Gupta, Ph.D., Joins Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a Senior Fellow
. Retrieved 19 September 2011. - ↑ UNICEF (June 2011).
Geeta Rao Gupta - Deputy Executive Director
. Retrieved 19 September 2011. - ↑ Global HIV Prevention Working Group (25 June 2007).
Bringing HIV Prevention to Scale - An Urgent Global Priority
. Retrieved 19 September 2011. - ↑ Global HIV Prevention Working Group (August 2008).
Global HIV Prevention Working Group. Behaviour Change and HIV Prevention - (Re)Considerations for the 21st Century
. Retrieved 19 September 2011. - ↑ aids2031.org (2008).
Social Drivers Working Group
. Retrieved 19 September 2011. - ↑ aids2031.org (2008).
What is aids2031?
. Retrieved 19 September 2011. - ↑ UNAIDS (1 February 2008).
Secretary, aids2031 (unaids/08/ta2)
. Retrieved 19 September 2011. - ↑
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.
- ↑ Garenne M. Changing relationships between HIV prevalence and circumcision in Lesotho. J Biosoc Sci. 4 April 2022; online ahead of print: 1-16. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- ↑ Garenne M. Age-incidence and prevalence of HIV among intact and circumcised men: an analysis of PHIA surveys in Southern Africa. J Biosoc Sci. 26 October 2022; : 1-13. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
