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==Position of Doctors Opposing CircumcisionRecent developments==
[[George C. Denniston]], M. D., M. P. H., the president of [[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)| Doctors Opposing Circumcision]], in a letter to Ambassador Deborah L. Birx, M.D., M. P. H., (2020), the head of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has called on PEPFAR to suspend the provision of male [[circumcision]] because it is ineffective and may increase the reception of HIV infection due to the loss of [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| immunological protections]] of the [[foreskin]], and to focus on the provision of anti-retroviral therapy and condoms.<ref name="denniston2020">{{REFdocument
|accessdate=2020-09-04
}}</ref>
The VMMC Experience Project published an 18-page article on 9 September 2020, that is highly critical of PEPFAR's male circumcision program. In brief, it charges:
<blockquote>
Campaigns to circumcise millions of boys and men to reduce HIV transmission are
being conducted throughout eastern and southern Africa, recommended by the
World Health Organization and implemented by the United States government and
Western NGOs. In the United States, proposals to mass-circumcise African and
African American men are longstanding, and have historically relied on racist beliefs
and stereotypes. The present campaigns were started in haste, without adequate
contextual research, and the manner in which they have been carried out implies
troubling assumptions about culture, health, and sexuality in Africa, as well as a failure
to properly consider the economic determinants of HIV prevalence. This critical
appraisal examines the history and politics of these circumcision campaigns while
highlighting the relevance of race and colonialism. It argues that the “circumcision
solution” to African HIV epidemics has more to do with cultural imperialism than with
sound health policy, and concludes that African communities need a means of robust
representation within the regime.
</blockquote>
== CircWatch ==