Ronald H. Gray
|
| Ronald H. Gray |
| Married To: |
| Maria Wawer |
| Colleagues & Benefactors: |
| Maria Wawer Robert C. Bailey Bertran Auvert Brian J. Morris Aaron Tobian Thomas C. Quinn |
| Funded By: |
| Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Johns Hopkins National Institutes of Health |
 Ronald Gray with his wife, and colleague, Maria Wawer. |
Ronald H. Gray is a North American circumcision proponent and biased researcher looking for justifications to roll-out mass circumcision programs around the world. He headed one of the three RCTs being used by the WHO to endorse circumcision as HIV prevention.[1][2][3][4][5] At their clinic, a music video promoting circumcision plays continuously.[6][7] He sometimes goes by the name Ron.[8]
Ronald Gray's RCT
Of the three RCTs being used by the WHO to promote circumcision as HIV prevention, Gray supervised the RCT that was carried out in Uganda.[9] Two other RCTs were supervised by Robert C. Bailey and Bertran Auvert respectively. All three RCTs were funded by the American National Institutes of Health.[10]
In 2010,[11] and again in 2011,[8] Gray published studies with Brian J. Morris.
The three RCTs that purport to show that circumcision reduces HIV infection have been completely discredited. Boyle & Hill (2011) reviewed the three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and found disabling methodological and statistical errors in all three. Although a 60 percent relative reduction in HIV was claimed, the absolute reduction was a statistically insignificant 1.3 percent.[12] Garenne & Matthews (2019) report that circumcised men have as much HIV infection as intact men.[13]
Quotes
| “ | We've never used surgery to prevent an infectious disease. It's a completely new concept, a new paradigm. How can we train all the surgeons to do this procedure and equip them. – Ronald H. Gray (JohnsHopkinsSPH)[14] |
| “ | It's been hard to change policy, because this is a whole new paradigm. We've never used surgery to prevent an infectious disease. Policy makers have to really take some time to wrap their minds around it. – Ronald H. Gray (JohnsHopkinsSPH)[15] |
| “ | It's taken longer than I would like to see these programs emerge. – Ronald H. Gray (JohnsHopkinsSPH)[16] |
| “ | The Latest Fight Over Foreskin If you were to ask me, should the U.S. be promoting circumcision, my answer would be, ‘no,’ What I do think ought to be the policy is that parents should be informed about the potential protective effects. – Ronald H. Gray (N.Y. Times)[17] |
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.[18]
- 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.[19]
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.
See also
References
- ↑
WHO (World Health Organization) (26 March 2007). Information Package on Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention (Insert 1)
. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ↑ WHO (World Health Organization) (26 March 2007).
Information Package on Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention (Insert 2) (Document unreadable!)
. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ↑ WHO (World Health Organization) (26 March 2007).
Information Package on Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention (Insert 3)
. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ↑ WHO (World Health Organization) (26 March 2007).
Information Package on Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention (Insert 4)
. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ↑ WHO (World Health Organization) (5 November 2008).
Information Package on Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention (Insert 5)
. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ↑ JohnsHopkinsSPH (1 October 2010).
Rakai Project
. Retrieved 10 April 2011. - ↑ smugamba (6 June 2010).
Rakai Male Circumcision Video By Stephen Mugamba Feat Jemima Sanyu.mpg
. Retrieved 10 April 2011. - ↑ a b
Morris BJ, Gray RH, Castellsagué X, Bosch FX, Halperin DT, Hankins CA, Waskett JH. The Strong Protective Effect of Circumcision Against Cancer of the Penis. Advanced in Urology. 9 March 2011; Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ↑ Gray RH, Kigozi G, Serwadda D, et al. Male circumcision for HIV prevention in men in Rakai, Uganda: A randomised trial. Lancet. 24 February 2007; 369(9562): 657-66. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ↑ (2008).
The Use of Male Circumcision to Prevent HIV Infection
, Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.). Retrieved 5 March 2011.
Quote:...funding from the United States National Institutes of Health to conduct randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in Africa.
- ↑ Gray RH, Bailey RC, Morris BJ. Keratinization of the adult male foreskin and implications for male circumcision. AIDS. 1 June 2010; 24(9): 1381; author reply 1381–2. PMID. DOI.
- ↑ Boyle GJ, Hill G. Sub-Saharan African randomised clinical trials into male circumcision and HIV transmission: Methodological, ethical and legal concerns . Thompson Reuter. December 2011; 19(2): 316-34. PMID. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ↑ Garenne M, Matthews A. Voluntary medical male circumcision and HIV in Zambia: expectations and observations. J Biosoc Science. 1 October 2019; 14: 1-13. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ↑ JohnsHopkinsSPH, (2009). Impact.
- ↑ JohnsHopkinsSPH, (2010). Rakai project.
- ↑ JohnsHopkinsSPH, (2010). Rakai project.
- ↑ N.Y. Times, The Latest Fight Over Foreskin, (8/29/2009).
- ↑ 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.
