Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has said mantained a stand against safe male circumcision in eliminating HIV, saying the campaigns in favour of the method are misleading Ugandans into unchecked sexual behaviour.
In his end of year message to the nation on Sunday, the President said there was need to revisit the earlier strategy of Abstinence, Being faithful and Condom use (ABC) strategy if the current trend of HIV is to be reversed.
The 2011 Uganda Aids Indicator Survey figures show that the prevalence of HIV among adults has increased from 6.4 per cent in 2005 to 7.3 per cent in 2011.
Ministry of Health figures also indicate that new infections increased by 11.5 per cent between 2007/8 and 2010/11.
The President said Ugandans should return to morality and sexual discipline if HIV\Aids is to be fought effectively, adding that HIV/Aids is not a medical but a moral problem that should be treated as such.
Mr Museveni had made the same call in Rakai during the World Aids Day celebrations on December 1, 2012.
The President’s call is in disagreement with that of scientists who advocate for safe male circumcision as another preventive measure which offers up to 60 per cent protection from the HIV virus that is yet to have a cure.
Officials of the Aids Control Programme (ACP) at the Ministry of Health received the news with criticism, saying HIV is a big problem in Uganda that cannot be tackled with a single strategy but rather a combination of all scientifically-proven preventive measures, including circumcision.
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