Rwanda: Bloodless male circumcision to boost HIV prevention
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Rwandan government plans to expand its national voluntary male circumcision programme using a new device, the PrePex system, which officials say saves both time and money.
The PrePex system works through a special elastic mechanism that fits closely around an inner ring, trapping the foreskin, which dries up and is removed after a week. A study conducted by the Rwandan Ministries of Defence and Health in 2010 found the device to be safe and effective.
“You don’t need a sterile environment, you don’t need anaesthetic, you don’t need to use an operating theatre,” Agnes Binagwaho, permanent secretary in Rwanda’s Ministry of Health, told IRIN/PlusNews. “It does not need highly trained medical personnel, and can be conducted in a clean consultation room with a bed.
“In Africa, where we lack medical infrastructure, we feel it is the best way to go,” she added.
