Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox is a Scottish singer who has lent her support to the circumcision / HIV message since 2008. In 2010 she appeared as a collaborator at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna. In 2012 she appeared at the Hope Rising concert alongside Sarah McLachlan and Angélique Kidjo. The Hope Rising concerts were held in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation,[1] whose founder, Stephen H. Lewis, is an avid promoter of circumcision as HIV prevention in Africa.
(The following text or part of it is quoted from the free Wikipedia:)
Lennox opened the 2009 Edinburgh Festival of Politics with commentary on Pope Benedict XVI's approach to HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa. She said that the Pope's denunciation of condoms on his recent tour of Africa had caused "tremendous harm" and she criticised the Roman Catholic Church for causing widespread confusion on the continent. Lennox also condemned the media's obsession with "celebrity culture" for keeping the AIDS pandemic off the front page. During her address, Lennox wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "HIV positive". Lennox wore similar T-shirts at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert at Madison Square Garden on 30 October 2009,[2] during her appearance on The Graham Norton Show on 30 November 2009 [...], during a recorded performance for American Idol during a 21 April 2010 fundraiser, entitled Idol Gives Back, and during a performance on the live Comic Relief show on 18 March 2011.
“ She is one of those exemplary human beings who chose to put her success in her chosen career to work in order to benefit others. She is a true friend of Africa and of South Africa. Her AIDS activism in general, and support for the treatment action campaign in-particular, contributed significantly to turning the pandemic around in our country. (Archbishop Desmond Tutu pays tribute to Annie Lennox in November 2013.)[3] In June 2010, Lennox was named as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for AIDS,[4] a role that continues as of August 2013. Lennox also works with other organisations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International and the British Red Cross in regard to the issue.[5]
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.[6]
- 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.[7]
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.[8]
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."[9]
References
- ↑
(15 August 2012)."Annie Lennox, Anjelique Kidjo, sign on to Toronto Hope Rising benefit concert", The Canadian Press. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
Quote:Scottish pop star Annie Lennox is set to take her powerful pipes to a Toronto benefit concert for the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
- ↑
(5 December 2009). Annie Lennox Wears 'HIV Positive' T-Shirt Onstage With Aretha (VIDEO)
(archive URL), Insidetv.aol.com. Retrieved 27 October 2010. - ↑ "Providing soundtrack to our lives: Annie Lennox feted by Tutu, Elton, Adele". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 12 November 2014
- ↑ Watt, Chris (3 June 2010).
Lennox appointed UN ambassador in fight against AIDS
, The Herald. Retrieved 27 October 2010. - ↑ Green, Emma (28 August 2013)."Annie Lennox on How to 'Catch' Creative Ideas", The Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ↑
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 2 November 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 2 November 2022.
