From the ArcaMax Publishing, Health & Fitness Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/healthtips/s-380746-695146
KISUMU, Kenya (UPI) -- Members of western Kenya's Luo community say a
proposed circumcision plan aimed at limiting the spread of AIDS is
against their cultural beliefs.
The Luo Council of Elders said the Ministry of Health plan not only
violates the community's beliefs, but could lead some Luo members to
incorrectly view circumcision as a possible alternative to condoms,
the BBC reported Saturday.
The council said community members who want to go forward with the
medical procedures can do so.
Being circumcised can significantly reduce the risk of men contracting
HIV/AIDS or spreading the disease to women, researchers have found.
The BBC said experts have said the Luo community has a high prevalence
of HIV/AIDS, in part, because of its cultural beliefs, which include
wife inheritance. Wife inheritance is a practice in which a widow is
remarried by a brother-in-law or another man chosen by village elders.
Community leaders have said any attempts to contain the spread of the
potentially deadly disease would be welcome, but are against including
circumcision.