Male circumcision campaigns in Africa to fight HIV are a form of cultural imperialism

Article here. Excerpt:

'World Health Organization-recommended campaigns to circumcise millions of African boys and men to reduce HIV transmission are based more on systemic racism and 'neocolonialism' than sound scientific research, according to a critical appraisal published in Developing World Bioethics.

More than 25 million men and boys have already been circumcised as a result of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) campaigns in eastern and southern Africa, implemented by the United States government and Western non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The critical appraisal examined the history and politics of these circumcision campaigns in the context of race and colonialism, and found that they had been started in haste and without sufficient contextual research. The paper concluded that the campaigns have been carried out in a manner that implies troubling assumptions about culture, health and sexuality in Africa. Africans were underrepresented in the decision making process, and needed a greater voice in the planning of such an intimate health intervention.'