Dr Buzzard
Deceased
KIGALI, Rwanda — His friends were doing it. His high school biology teacher recommended it, for health reasons. Finally, his girlfriend insisted on it. So one morning about a year ago, Guillaume Gatera, 19, walked into a busy private hospital in Kigali, Rwanda's capital, plunked down about $40 and was circumcised.
"It was less painful than I expected," the lanky student recalled recently, nursing a mango juice at a terrace cafe and exhibiting not a trace of squeamishness. "Actually, I felt proud. After I did it, three or four of my friends went and did it too."
It may seem an unlikely trend, but more and more men in Rwanda and other African countries are being circumcised, spurred by new medical research showing that it greatly reduces the risk of contracting HIV.
On a continent ravaged by AIDS, the health imperative is overturning centuries-old beliefs about circumcision, which most traditional African cultures practice as a male rite of passage but many societies do not. Only 1 in 5 men are thought to be circumcised in Rwanda, an overwhelmingly Christian nation in which the local word for the practice is "gusilamula," which means to make oneself a Muslim.
With experts worldwide now touting it as a simple and proven method of fighting HIV — though far from guaranteed — Rwandan health officials plan to launch a nationwide campaign this year to dispel myths and encourage men to be circumcised. The country's health minister, Innocent Nyaruhirira, said recently that the voluntary campaign would begin with soldiers, police officers and university students.
"It was less painful than I expected," the lanky student recalled recently, nursing a mango juice at a terrace cafe and exhibiting not a trace of squeamishness. "Actually, I felt proud. After I did it, three or four of my friends went and did it too."
It may seem an unlikely trend, but more and more men in Rwanda and other African countries are being circumcised, spurred by new medical research showing that it greatly reduces the risk of contracting HIV.
On a continent ravaged by AIDS, the health imperative is overturning centuries-old beliefs about circumcision, which most traditional African cultures practice as a male rite of passage but many societies do not. Only 1 in 5 men are thought to be circumcised in Rwanda, an overwhelmingly Christian nation in which the local word for the practice is "gusilamula," which means to make oneself a Muslim.
With experts worldwide now touting it as a simple and proven method of fighting HIV — though far from guaranteed — Rwandan health officials plan to launch a nationwide campaign this year to dispel myths and encourage men to be circumcised. The country's health minister, Innocent Nyaruhirira, said recently that the voluntary campaign would begin with soldiers, police officers and university students.