Male circumcision could prevent HIV/AIDS infection

Dr. Augustino Hellar of Jhpiego conducting male circumcision

By Nasser Kigwangallah, recently in Dodoma

MALE circumcision has been proven to prevent female-to-male infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

The theory that male circumcision may be protective against HIV infection was invented and developed first in North America and practiced in Africa.

This was revealed by Dr. Augustino Hellar, of Jhpiego in his paper presented at a two day conference of Tanzania Parliamentarians Aids Coalition (TAPAC) in Dodoma on Sunday last week.

According to Dr. Augustino Hellar, removing the foreskin can prevent HIV infection by at least half.

He said those who advocate of male circumcision, have further promoted male circumcision as a way of fighting the pandemic.

“Countries that have been practicing male circumcision have low rate of HIV/AIDS infection as compared to those countries that do not practice the norm,” he said.

He said numerous observational studies were carried out in Africa.

Circumcision advocates conducted randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in Africa.

Three RCTs to study the value of male circumcision in reducing HIV infection have been conducted in Africa.

The studies were intended to find out if circumcision is an effective intervention to prevent female-to-male HIV infection.

A RCT was carried out in Orange Farm, South Africa; a RCT was carried out in Kenya and a RCT was carried out in Uganda.

All three studies found that non-circumcised males contract HIV infection more quickly than circumcised males.

All three studies were terminated early, before the incidence of infection in circumcised males caught up with the incidence of infection in the non-circumcised males.

He said: “National strategy for scaling up male circumcisionfor HIV prevention started in Tanzania since 2009 by starting with Iringa, Mbeya and Kagera regions,” he added.

According to him, the strategy intended to be conducted in eight regions, now there are 12 regions conducting male circumcision namely;

Mara,Rukwa,Iringa,Tabora,Mbeya,Mwanza,Kagera and Shinyanga regions.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended that male circumcision, if done properly could reduce HIV/AIDS infection by 60 per cent.

Circumcision by male is one strategy of fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS to a greater extent.

It is my hope that this initiative, if spread all over the country, could be way effective ways of reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Circumcision practices are largely culturally determined and as a result there are strong beliefs and opinions surrounding its practice.

It is important to acknowledge that researchers' personal biases and the dominant circumcision practices of their respective countries may influence their interpretation of findings.

Circumcision does not prevent HIV infection, all together if the particular person does not adhere to norms and practices of abstinence and of being faithful to his wife or partner.

There are many methods of HIV transmission, including: mother-to-child infection, transfusion of tainted blood, infection with non sterile needles used in health care, infection by homosexual and heterosexual anal intercourse, infection by needle sharing to inject illegal drugs, traditional African scarring practices, tribal (ritual) circumcision, female circumcision, male-to-female heterosexual transmission, and female-to-male heterosexual transmission.

Male circumcision might only reduce infection by the last method, so the overall influence on the HIV epidemic in Africa, at best, would be likely to be slight, however, the risk of male-to-female transmission is much higher than that of female-to-male transmission, so a means of partial prevention that targets only the second means at the expense of the first would be counterproductive.

There is no indication that male circumcision would protect women.

Viral load is the chief predictor of the risk of HIV transmission.

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USHOGA WAINYEMELEA TANZANIA

 Ali Kessy, Mbunge wa Nkasi

MBUNGE wa Nkasi Kaskazini, Ali Keissy (CCM), amesema kuwa bila Watanzania kuwa makini na sheria mpya ya ndoa ijayo, huenda nchi ikapata rais, wabunge na madiwani wanaojihusisha na mapenzi ya jinsia moja (mashoga).
Keissy alitoa kauli hiyo wakati akichangia mada katika mkutano wa siku tatu wa Chama cha Wabunge cha Kupambana na Ukimwi (TAPAC) uliomalizika jana mjini Dodoma.
Mbunge huyo aliwaomba viongozi wa dini kukemea kwa nguvu vitendo hivyo, pia alipinga hatua ya wazazi kuwapeleka watoto wao wadogo shule za bweni akidai kuwa huko ndiko wanakojifunza vitendo hivyo.
“Mnashindwa kulea watoto wenu, mnawapeleka shule za bweni wakiwa na miaka mitatu ili walelewe kizungu. Huko watapakwa mafuta ya KY na wataingiliwa,” alisema.
Keissy alitolea mfano mkutano mmoja uliofanyika jijini Dar es Salaam kuwa uliwashirikisha mashoga 400, jambo alilodai ni ishara kwamba wanaojihusisha na vitendo hivyo wanaongezeka, na hivyo kuitaka serikali kuwapiga marufuku.
Hata hivyo, baada ya mbunge huyo kuhitimisha mchango wake, mmoja wa vijana wanaojihusisha na mapenzi hayo ya jinsia moja, Abdilah Ally ambaye alikuwa amealikwa na TAPAC, alitetea kuwa jamii inapaswa kukubali kwamba matendo hayo yanafanyika.
“Tunatambua kuwa sheria haziruhusu vitendo hivi, lakini vipo na vinafanyika na tunapata maambukizi kwa kiwango kikubwa. Tunachokitaka tusinyanyapaliwe na jamii, bali tupewe huduma ya afya ya kujikinga na maambukizi.
“Mathalani mimi hapa nina wapenzi wanaume watatu ambao nashiriki nao mapenzi, sasa kama nimeathirika ina maana wote wale nao wamethirika,” alisema.
Akifunga mkutano huo, Naibu Waziri wa Jamii, Jinsia na Watoto, Ummy Mwalimu, aliwasihi wanasiasa wasiwabague makundi ya watu wanaojihusisha na vitendo vya ushoga, usagaji na matumizi ya dawa za kulevya.
Alisema kuwa makundi hayo yanakabiliwa na janga la maambukizi makubwa ya virusi vya ukimwi, hivyo wanahitaji kusaidiwa kuondoka katika makundi hayo badala ya kuwahukumu.
Mwalimu alifafanua kuwa miongoni mwa washiriki wa mkutano huo kutoka katika makundi hayo, alikuwa mtumiaji wa dawa za kulevya, lakini baada ya kupata msaada wa kiafya ameachana na vitendo hivyo na sasa anaendelea vizuri chini ya uangalizi.
Mkutano huo uliratibiwa na Tume ya Kudhibiti Ukimwi Tanzania (TACAIDS), kama wadau wakuu waliotoa mada mbalimbali kuhusu jinsi wanavyopambana kupunguza maambukizi mapya ya virusi vya ukimwi.
Katika hilo, Mwalimu alisema kuwa serikali dhamira yake ni kufikia maambukizi asilimia sifuri, hasa kwa kutoa msukumo mkubwa kwa makundi ya wanawake, vijana na watoto ambayo yana maambukizi zaidi.
Mbunge wa Chambani visiwani Zanzibar, Yusuf Salam Hussein (CUF), alisema kuwa Serikali ya Mapinduzi ya Zanzibar imefanikiwa kupunguza maambukizi hayo kwa wanandoa kutokana na sheria ya kuwataka wapime ukimwi kabla ya kufunga ndoa.
“Zanzibar mtu hawezi kufunga ndoa kanisani kwa padri wala msikitini kwa sheikh ikiwa hana kibali cha sheha,” alisema.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ACCUSES POLICE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES ON GAYS IN TANZANIA

 Neela Ghoshal, the Human Rights Watch Researcher (LGBT Rights) for East Africa

By Nasser Kigwangallah, recently in Dodoma

HUMAN Rights Watch has urged Members of the Parliament (MPs) to speed the process of enacting laws that would deter law enforcing agencies, such as the police, from discriminating vulnerable groups so as to escalate the war against HIV/AIDS in the society.

The call to that effect was made by Neela Ghoshal, the Human Rights Watch Researcher (LGBT Rights) for East Africa in her key note address to MPs at the 6^th Annual Conference of Tanzania Parliamentarians Aids Coalition (TAPAC) which ended in Dodoma on Sunday.

She said discrimination against sex workers, people who use drugs or LGBTI, gays and lesbians has reached an alarming state of concern in Tanzania and remedial steps are urgently needed if the war against HIV/AIDS is to be won.

“A research conducted by Human Rights Watch group between May 2012 and April, 2013 has shown massive human rights violations experienced by sex workers, drug users, lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender and intersex people including MSM exposed very troubling situation of sexual exploitation,” she said.

According to her there were reports from people interviewed of unlawful torture and other forms of ill-treatment by the police and other law enforcement officials during security operations in some parts of the country.

She added that the research also documents grave human rights violations by police, including torture, rape, assault and arbitrary arrest of people found to be involved in sexual orientation.

She said other forms of abuses by law enforcers are extortion, as well as refusal to accept complaints from members of the most vulnerable groups in the society.

Neela Ghoshal said many cases rested on confessions obtained during beatings and torture or on suspects’ appearance and other behavior.
“No one should be sentenced to prison time because they blurt out a confession to stop torture, or because a judge doesn’t like what they drink, how they dress, or what kind of text messages they send,” she said.

On his part, Abdillah Ally, (famously known as Zungu) a renowned homosexual operating in Dar es Salaam testified by saying that they have been tortured and raped in prison by police and other law enforcers.

He said we have documents from our members who reported abuses by authorities prosecuting suspected gays and lesbians.
He said there are cases of men who have been beaten so badly by police and vigilante groups because of their sexual practices.
Condemning the practice as illegal and inhumane, the Nkasi legislator Ali Keissy urged his fellow MPs to abhor the practice as being a condemned sin in front of god almighty.
“Being gay or lesbian is a practice which stands for condemnation and we as MPs should be careful, otherwise the country will in future, be ruled by a gay president or we shall have gay MPs and gay councilors ,” he said.
The two day conferebce was officially closed by Ummy Mwalimu, deputy minister in the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children.
She said it was not a good omen to discriminate gay, lesbians and such groups if we all want to eradicate HIV/AIDS in the country.
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Anne Makinda opens the 6th Tanzania Parliamentarians Aids Coalition in Dodoma

  

Speaker of the National Assembly Anne Makinda (Centre) along with TAPAC leaders after she opened the 6th TAPAC Conference in Dodoma yesterday 

By Nasser Kigwangallah, in Dodoma

THE speaker of the National Assembly Anne Makinda has underscored the need for concerted efforts to be made to ensure that the country attains no new infections by eradicating all forms of discrimination of people living with HIV/Aids in the country.

Makinda made the remarks when she was making her key note address to participants at the inaugural of a two day annual conference of Tanzania Parliamentarians Aids Coalition at the Saint Gasper Conference Centre in Dodoma yesterday.

She said: “We have succeeded, after twelve years of TAPAC existence in eradicating, to a greater extent, stigma and other forms of discrimination at the grass roots level.”

She said infection of new HIV from mother to child, and the number of ARVs users has dramatically shot up.

But of our success the Inter Parliamentarian Union sent a delegation to TAPAC and came to learn what we were doing to reach to that level of success.

She added that Tanzania was the only country in which its parliament was actively involved in the war against HIV/AIDS. 

This of course is an increasing gesture, thanks to all MPs, our donors both at local and international level.

We will soon send a draft to the august house so that all draconian laws which were discriminatory could be changed.

On her part, Lediana Mng’ong’o, the TAPAC Chairman said the objective of the two day seminar is to build capacity to all MPS, who are members on HIV/AIDS activities so that they could educate their voters in their respective constituencies.

“We aim at raising awareness on the level of HIV/AIDS prevalence and the way to combat it so that no more infections could be recorded in the country,” she said.

Presenting greetings from the country representative of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Dr Bwijo Bwijo,

HIV and AIDS Programme Specialist said relations between UNDP and the National Assembly are long and close spanning more than a decade in Tanzania.

“Globally, UNDP is committed to building better Parliaments and stronger democracies covering more than fifty countries,” he said.

He added that one of the main plan of the United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP) outcomes is to enhance the ability of key institutions to effectively implement their election and political function and better fulfill their representative, legislative and oversight responsibilities.

He remarked: “Our partnership is based on a shared understanding that development depends on good governance, and good governance depends on strong parliaments.”

He said it is through our Legislatures Support Project (LSP) that we have been working closely with respective portfolio committees of the National Assembly and the House of Representatives in Zanzibar.

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SPICENET (Tanzania) Limited organises Tanzania Open Chess Championship-2013 in Dar

The Spicenet Tanzania director Vinay Coudary speaking to journalists in Dar es Salaam recently

By Nasser Kigwangallah

SPICENET Tanzania Limited, in collaboration with Tanzania Chess Association (TCA) organised an open international tournament named Spicenet Tanzania Open Chess Championship (TOCC) 2013.

The three day event was held in Dar es Salaam from 14^th to 16^th June, 2013 at Golden Jubilee Towers in downtown Dar es Salaam under the supervision of the World Chess Federation (FIDE).

Th event was graced by Nigel Short, the renowned chess grandmaster from United Kingdom and Alina Lima, a woman chess championship star from Romania.

The championship, one of its kind to be held in the East African region, was attracted by 80 players from 10 countries, including Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Others were United Kingdom, Romania, Finland and Zambia

Speaking to this reporter at the venue on Sunday, Vinay Choudary, the Spicenet Tanzania Limited director said as sponsors of the tournament, Spicenet has spent about 50m/- to organise the event.

“We have spent 50m/- to organise this event, the objective being to promote chess in Tanzania and nothing more,” he said.

He added that he doesn’t want to get any returnss out of it.

Mr Nigel Short, the chess grandmaster from the United Kingdom playing chess. He won the first prize

A total of five winners with the overall points  were awarded trophies and cash money as follows; the 1^st winner was Mr. Nigel Short from the UK who scooped a tophy and 1mil/-, the 2^nd runner-up was Emojong Elijah from Uganda who got 500,000/- and a trophy, the third, fourth and fifth placed pocketing 300,000/-.

The rest will get a consolation prizes of 100,000/- each.
The tournament is sponsored by internet service providers, Spicenet Tanzania Limited (STL).