Circumcision in Africa

[serendipity22]

from http://www.circumstitions.com/news/news34.html#33


Sindh Today
July 5, 2009
Botched circumcisions kill 33 boys in South Africa

Thirty-three South African boys have died following botched circumcisions in the country’s Eastern Cape province, radio reports said Sunday. [It is debatable whether the circumcisions of those who died were performed any differently from those who didn't.]

For many boys in South Africa, circumcision marks the transition to manhood.

The group procedure is usually carried out in winter. Each year brings its share of fatalities, which are usually blamed on the use of blunt, unsterilised instruments. ...

(to the rest - if this link fails, contact us)

The commonest causes of death are septicaemia from infected wounds, and dehydration, which happens when initiates are denied water by their handlers.

Many more youths are hospitalised each year with infected or mutilated penises.

Eastern Cape is not the only area affected. In May, the northeastern Mpumalanga province also reported several circumcision deaths.

In 2001, the government passed an act requiring practitioners to have a license from a medical officer for each circumcision, but traditional leaders resisted the measure, saying it infringed communities’ rights.

[serendipity22]

from http://www.circumstitions.com/news/news34.html#mass-uganda


Pretoria News
July 9, 2009
E Cape circumcision toll tops 40

The death toll in the Eastern Cape's winter circumcision season has reached 41, the provincial health department said on Thursday.

Spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said the most recent deaths were on Wednesday night, of two boys at initiation schools in the Mthatha area.

Autopsies were being done on all the youths to establish causes of death.

He said 53 youths rescued from illegal schools were currently being treated at hospitals in Mthatha, 26 at St Barnabas Hospital in Libode, 27 at Canzibe in Ngqeleni and 34 at St Elizabeth in Lusikisiki.

Kupelo said the department was advertising 33 new posts on its circumcision team as a matter of urgency. - Sapa


also

Zimbabwe Metro
May 27, 2009
One razor used to circumcise 15 boys

Participants at a recent HIV and Aids stakeholders conference in Harare were left shell-shocked when one of the presenters revealed that one razor blade was being used to circumcise about 15 people at initiation ceremonies in Shangani,Matebeland North.

Mr Timothy Ndunu of Sesithula Vamanani Caring, an HIV and Aids organisation, told participants that the Hlengwe people of Shangani had embarked on a “massive circumcision” drive in a bid to eradicate the prevalence of the disease in their community.

He said the drive had been packaged as initiation ceremonies and instead of curtailing the spread of HIV and Aids they were actually exposing people to danger because unhygienic methods were being used.

“These initiation ceremonies have become a grave concern in as far as eradicating the Aids scourge is concerned. They lack basic hygienic requirements and are also short of resources thereby exposing patients to a high risk of HIV infection.

“It is also at these ceremonies that boys and girls who might not necessarily be teenagers but are physically advanced are taught how to conduct themselves in bed, hence the children tend to begin experimenting at an early age,” he said.

Mr Ndunu said early marriages were becoming more prevalent and children in the community were prematurely leaving school.

“Besides the dangerous circumcision being done, there is also the dangerous practice of wife inheritance, which has not helped either,” he said.

“The Shangani people are in a very remote area. A lot of these issues that we are discussing here are not known back in Hlengwe village. In the instances that they get such information, it tends to fall on deaf ears.

“A lot of work needs to be done in this area in terms of conscientising these villagers because they tend to ignore information that is contrary to their traditional norms without regard to the consequences”, said Mr Ndunu.

“Many people in this community do not believe in the information that some organisations teach them because they have their own way of doing things that they are used to.

“However, our organisation has been working very hard with these people because they represent a time bomb that is waiting to explode,” Mr Ndunu said.

Male circumcision has been proved to be an efficacious, lasting and cost-effective strategy for combating HIV in high-prevalence countries but becomes dangerous when unsafe methods are employed. The revelations come at a time when the country is recording remarkable progress in the prevention of HIV infection.

[serendipity22]

Eastern Cape circumcision deaths on the rise

Four more boys have died because of botched circumcisions in the Eastern Cape, bringing the death toll to 49, health officials said on Friday.

This happens every year in circumcision season in South Africa.

[3'llhavetodo]

Circumcision season.... what an appalling idea :no::no:

[serendipity22]

They have a Summer circumcision season too (South Africa East cape).

Deaths have already reached 17 and we are not even 3 weeks into Summer.

http://www.circumstitions.com/news/news35.html#17

[serendipity22]

Eastern Cape Deaths
from Circumcision, 2009:
80

[Father]

Eastern Cape Deaths
from Circumcision, 2009:
80

I guess that shows the risk associated with circumcision of teenagers and adults without proper hygiene and experience (non doctors).

Obviously not relevant to infant circumcision in Australia.

[WorkingClassMum]

I guess that shows the risk associated with circumcision of teenagers and adults without proper hygiene and experience (non doctors).

Obviously not relevant to infant circumcision in Australia.

no one said it was relevant to RIC in Australia, but it is an awful rude eye opener as to how ******** RIC is in Africa


BTW - I have used the term ******** in it's correct context


Main Entry: bar·bar·ic
Pronunciation: \bär-ˈber-ik, -ˈba-rik\
Function: adjective
Date: 15th century
1 a : of, relating to, or characteristic of barbarians b : possessing or characteristic of a cultural level more complex than primitive savagery but less sophisticated than advanced civilization
2 a : marked by a lack of restraint : wild (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wild) b : having a bizarre, primitive, or unsophisticated quality

[Father]

no one said it was relevant to RIC in Australia, but it is an awful rude eye opener as to how ******** RIC is in Africa


I think you will find that these deaths were not due to RIC (routine infant circumcision).

[WorkingClassMum]

I think you will find that these deaths were not due to RIC (routine infant circumcision).


Ok RTC/RAC - it's still routine circ'ng

[serendipity22]

These deaths are amongst teenagers (against their will.)

Not relevant to infant circ true, but very relevant to circ in Africa and the people who think circing African males is a great idea.

[Achelois]

This is Dr. Dean Edell speaking about the AIDS/circumcision fallacy in Africa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlsUg0sdAtE), and how it will lead to more deaths - he echoes my thoughts exactly.

This is a criticism of the three studies (http://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/full/10.2217/17469600.2.3.193) being used to promote circumcision for HIV prevention in Africa. Even if you forget the flawed methodology, circumcision increases the risk of HIV transmission to women, a factor that is being completely ignored.

[Lemonhead]

BTW - I have used the term ******** in it's correct context

Nonetheless you will feel the sharp sting of the censorship whip :laughing:.

How sad and upsetting :no: I am so glad my boys will never have to feel that pain.

[waterlily]

This is horrible to read. :( those poor Boys.

[JohnC]

Obviously not relevant to infant circumcision in Australia.

Yes it is, because both are cultural constructs, just like footbinding, scarification, tattooing, etc. The fact some people dress this construct up with spurious medical mumbo-jumbo does not alter the fact that routine and ritual circumcision, wherever it occurs, and whether on males or females, is predominantly about social-sexual identity.

Individuals embedded in that construct may rationalise their behavious in different ways, but that does not change the social reality one iota.