The prevalence of circumcision is the percentage of males in a given population who have been circumcised, with the procedure most commonly being performed as a part of preventive healthcare, a religious obligation, or cultural practice.
Since 2010, both the World Health Organization and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS have been promoting a higher rate of circumcision prevalence as a prevention against HIV transmission and some STIs in areas with high HIV transmission and low circumcision rates. [1] [2] [3] [4] According to Hay & Levin, 2012, around 50% of all circumcisions worldwide are performed for reasons of preventive healthcare, while the other 50% are predominately performed for religious or cultural reasons. [5]
Rates vary widely, from 99.9% in Morocco, [6] and similarly high rates in many Muslim-majority countries, to 91.7% in Israel, [6] 80% in the United States, to 75% in South Korea, to 58% in Australia, to 45% in South Africa, to 20.7% in the United Kingdom, 14% in China, [6] 9% in Japan, [6] and 1% in Honduras. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
In 2016, the global prevalence of circumcision was estimated to be around 38%, with notable increases of circumcision prevalence seen in the United States, the Middle East, and Africa; major medical organizations have promoted a higher rate of circumcision in Africa as a preventive against the spread of HIV/AIDS. [14] [16] In 2020, the World Health Organization reiterated that it is an efficacious prophylactic intervention if carried out by medical professionals under safe conditions in areas of high HIV/AIDS prevalence. [17] [18]
Between 2008 and 2010, the prevalence of circumcision in the United States was estimated to be around 80%. Similarly, Wolters Kluwer estimated that close to 80% of United States males in 2021 were circumcised. [19] [9] Large portions of Africa have adopted the practice as a preventive measure against the spread of HIV. It has overwhelming prevalence in the Muslim world and in Israel due to the religious beliefs of most Muslims and Jews; however, some non-Muslim groups living within Muslim-majority countries, such as Armenians and Assyrians, do not practice it. [20] It is prevalent in some Muslim-majority countries in southeast Asia such as Indonesia and Malaysia; however, the WHO states that there is "little non-religious circumcision in Asia, with the exceptions of the Republic of Korea and the Philippines". [11] In parts of Africa it is often practiced as part of tribal customs from Christians, Muslims and Animists. In contrast, rates are much lower in most of Europe, parts of southern Africa, most of Asia, Oceania and Latin America, constituting South America, Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico. [21] Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are examples of countries that have seen a decline in male circumcision in recent decades, while there have been indications of increasing demand in southern Africa, partly for preventive reasons due to the HIV epidemic there. [22]
Studies suggest that about 62% of African males are circumcised. [23] However, the rate varies widely between different regions, and among ethnic and religious groups, with Muslim North Africans practising it for religious reasons, central Africans as part of ethnic rituals or local custom, and some traditionally non-circumcising populations in the South recently adopting the practice due to measures by the World Health Organization to prevent AIDS. [24] Williams, B.G. et al. commented that: "Most of the currently available data on the prevalence of [male circumcision] are several decades old, while several of the recent studies were carried out as adjuncts to demographic and health surveys and were not designed to determine the prevalence of male circumcision." [25]
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Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Rep), Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia. [13] [27]
It is estimated that 48.7% of males are circumcised in South Africa. [13] One national study reported that 54.2% of black Africans were circumcised, with 32.1% of those traditionally circumcised and 13.4% circumcised for medical reasons. [28]
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo (Dem Rep), Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo. [13] [27]
Less than 20% of the population are circumcised in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Saint Lucia, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela. [26]
The reported circumcision rate for younger individuals (age 15–18) is 16.7% (2019). [29]
The circumcision rate among homosexual men in Buenos Aires is reported to be 13% (2013). [30]
The overall prevalence of circumcision is reported to be 6.9%. [31] The reported rate is 13% in Rio de Janeiro, indicating possible differences between urban and rural rates. [32]
The overall prevalence of circumcision is reported to be 6.9%. [31]
In 2006 the prevalence of circumcision in Mexico was estimated to be 10% to 31%. [33] A recent (2020) HIV study conducted in Mexico City found a participant circumcision rate of 23% (255/1118). [34]
In 2012 a random sample of male visitors to a STI center in San Juan were surveyed on various topics, the reported circumcision rate was 32.4%. [35]
Circumcision in Canada followed the pattern of other English speaking countries, with the practice being adopted during the 1900s on hygienic grounds, but with the rate of circumcision declining in the latter part of the 20th century, particularly after a new policy position was released in 1975. [37] [38] The Canadian Paediatric Society estimated that, in 1970, 48 percent of males were circumcised. [39] However, studies conducted in 1977–1978 revealed a wide variation in the incidence of circumcision between different provinces and territories. For example, Yukon reported a rate of 74.8 percent, while Newfoundland reported an incidence of 1.9 to 2.4 percent. [40] The rate continued to drop, with the newborn circumcision rate in Ontario in 1994–95 dropping to 29.9%. [41]
A survey of Canadian maternity practices conducted in 2006/2007, and published in 2009 by the national public health agency, found a newborn circumcision rate of 31.9%. [36] Rates varied markedly across the country, from close to zero in Newfoundland and Labrador to 44.3% in Alberta and 43.7% in Ontario. In 2015, the Canadian Paediatric Society used those statistics in determining the national circumcision rate it currently quotes. [36] [42]
A more recent survey conducted in 2011 on expecting couples in Saskatchewan (average age 30.3) found the circumcision rate of the male participants to be 61%. [43]
Province/Territory | % | Province/Territory | % |
---|---|---|---|
Alberta | 44.3 | New Brunswick | 18.0 |
Ontario | 43.7 | Quebec | 12.3 |
Prince Edward Island | 39.2 | Northwest Territories | 9.7 |
Saskatchewan | 35.6 | Nova Scotia | 6.8 |
Canada | 31.9 | Newfoundland and Labrador | * |
Manitoba | 31.6 | Nunavut | * |
British Columbia | 30.2 | Yukon | * |
* Numerator too small for rate calculation | |||
As of 2014, an estimated 80.5% of American men aged 14-59 are circumcised. [14] [44] Morris et al. found a present rate of 77% in 2010, when accounting for underreporting. During the 2000s, the prevalence of circumcision in men aged 14–59 differed by race: 91 percent of non-Hispanic white men, 76 percent of black men, and 44 percent of Hispanic men (of any race) were circumcised, according to Mayo Clinic Proceedings. [14] Wolters Kluwer estimated that closer to 80% of males as of April 2023 were circumcised. [45]
Medicaid funding for infant circumcision used to be available in every state, but starting with California in 1982, 13 states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) had eliminated Medicaid coverage of routine circumcision by 2024, with several states reversing their decisions and reinstating coverage for the procedure. [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] One study in the Midwest of the U.S. found that this had no effect on the newborn circumcision rate but it did affect the demand for circumcision at a later time. [52] Another study, published in early 2009, found a difference in the neonatal male circumcision rate of 24% between states with and without Medicaid coverage. The study was controlled for other factors such as the percentage of Hispanic patients. [53]
The CDC uses two data sources to track circumcision rates. The first is the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which records circumcisions performed at any time at any location. The second is the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), which does not record circumcisions performed outside the hospital setting or those performed at any age following discharge from the birth hospitalization. [14] Methodologically flawed calculations throughout the 2000s and 2010s showed the rate decreasing off of these statistics, but this data is believed to be misleading due to an increasing trend of performing neonatal circumcisions outside of hospitals, a trend not reflected in hospital discharge data. [45] [54] [55]
Circumcision was the second-most common procedure performed on patients under one year of age, after routine inoculations and prophylactic vaccinations. [56] There are various explanations for why the infant circumcision rate in the United States is different from comparable countries. Many parents' decisions about circumcision are preconceived, which may contribute to the high rate of elective circumcision. [57] Brown & Brown (1987) reported the most correlated factor is whether the father is circumcised. [58]
Armenia, Bhutan, Burma, China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, [59] India, Japan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam. [26]
According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) the overall circumcision rate in India is 16%. [60]
The overall prevalence of circumcision in China is reported to be 14%. [13]
A sample of children aged <12 found a circumcision rate of 3.4% (1982). [59] A survey on men who regularly visit female sex workers from 2012 found a circumcision rate of 28%. [61]
The prevalence of circumcision in Singapore is estimated to be 14.9%. [13]
It is estimated that the circumcision rate for men aged 20–40 is between 10 and 15%. [62]
The overall prevalence of circumcision in Cambodia is reported to be 3.5%. [31]
Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, and South Korea. [63]
Circumcision is largely a modern-day phenomenon in South Korea. While during the twentieth century, the rate of circumcision increased to around 80%, virtually no circumcision was performed prior to 1945, as it was against Korea's long and strong tradition of preserving the body as a gift from parents. [63] [ better source needed ] A 2001 study of 20-year-old South Korean men found that 78% were circumcised. [64] At the time, the authors commented that "South Korea has possibly the largest absolute number of teenage or adult circumcisions anywhere in the world. Because circumcision started through contact with the American military during the Korean War, South Korea has an unusual history of circumcision." According to a 2002 study, 86.3% of South Korean males aged 14–29 were circumcised. [8] In 2012, it is the case of 75.8% of the same age group. Only after 1999 has some information against circumcision become available (at the time of the 2012 study, only 3% of Korean internet sites, using the most popular Korean search engine Naver, were against indiscriminate circumcision and 97% were for). [63] The authors of the study speculate "that the very existence of information about the history of Korean circumcision, its contrary nature relative to a longstanding tradition, its introduction by the US military, etc., has been extremely influential on the decision-making process regarding circumcision.". [63]
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, [13] Bahrain, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Israel, [65] Pakistan, [13] Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Palestine, the Philippines, [31] Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. [26]
The overall prevalence of circumcision ( tuli ) in the Philippines is reported to be 92.5%. Most circumcisions in the Philippines are performed between the ages of 11 and 13. [66] [67]
Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, [68] Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, [26] and the United Kingdom. [69]
An exact number for the circumcision rate in Germany is not available. A 2016 study in Population Health Metrics quotes a survey stating 6.7% for men aged 30 to 61. [70] Public health insurances in Germany paid for 32 thousand circumcisions on boys in 2020. [71]
In this context, a peer-reviewed study found that circumcisions of minors increased slightly throughout the study period between 2013 and 2018. The corresponding population-related number rose from 7.5 circumcisions per 1,000 minors in 2013 to 8 in 2018. [72] A peer-reviewed study in 2021 found that circumcisions were more frequent in the first 5 years of life and above 15 years of age, whereas preputium-preserving procedures were preferred in the age groups between 5 and 14 years of age. [73] Its also claims a decrease in the number of circumcisions in recent years, stating that "[t]he hnumber of circumcisions and preputium-preserving operations decreased in absolute and relative numbers" and that "[t]he increasing trend towards neonatal circumcision observed in the United States is absent in Germany". Neonatal in this context refers to circumcisions shortly after birth.
Another peer-reviewed study in 2023 also reports that among than 38,000 German homosexual men without migration background 19.7% were circumcised. [74]
A national survey on sexual attitudes in 2000 found that 15.8% of men or boys in the United Kingdom (ages 16–44) were circumcised by their parents' choosing, while 11.7% of 16- to 19-year-olds, and 19.6% of 40- to 44-year-olds said they had been circumcised. Apart from black Caribbeans, men born overseas were more likely to be circumcised. [69] Rickwood et al. reported that the proportion of English boys circumcised for medical reasons had fallen from 35% in the early 1930s to 6.5% by the mid-1980s. As of 2000 [update] an estimated 3.8% of male children in the UK were being circumcised for medical reasons by the age of 15. [75] The researchers stated that too many boys, especially under the age of 5, were still being circumcised because of a misdiagnosis of phimosis. They called for a target to reduce the percentage to 2%.
Among participants of the HELIUS study, recruited between 2011 and 2015 (age 18–70), the circumcision rate for Dutch men without a migration background was 9%. The rate was > 95% for men of Moroccan, Turkish or Ghanaian background. [76] A small study from 2019 that recruited homosexual men suffering from various STDs found that 16% of the participants were circumcised. [77]
In France, according to a telephone survey (TNS Sofres Institute, 2008), 14% of men are circumcised. [78]
The circumcision rate in Bulgaria is estimated to be 13.4%. [13]
The circumcision rate in Russia is estimated to be 11.8%. [13]
A study on hypospadias in 2016 recruited a control group (i.e. men without hypospadias) via the Swedish Population Registry; the reported circumcision rate of the controls was 11.8% with a mean age of 33. [79]
In 1986, 511 out of approximately 478,000 Danish boys aged 0–14 years were circumcised. This corresponds to a cumulative national circumcision rate of around 1.6% by the age of 15 years. [80]
A recent survey (2017–2018) called Project SEXUS surveyed 62,675 Danes aged 15–89 years on sexual topics. The survey found the male circumcision rate to be 7%. Of the respondents 5% were circumcised for medical or other reasons, while 2% were circumcised for religious or traditional reasons. [81]
The overall prevalence of circumcision in Spain is reported to be 6.6%. [13]
A 2017 survey of Polish university students (average age - 25) found a circumcision rate of 5%. [82] This figure is an estimate and fully representative only for students of the university where the survey took place. A 2016 study estimated a prevalence rate of 0.11% in total population. [13]
In Slovenia, a 1999–2001 national probability sample of the general population aged 18–49 years found that overall, 4.5% of Slovenian male citizens reported being circumcised. Prevalence strongly varied across religious groups, with 92.4% of Muslims being circumcised, 1.7% of Roman Catholics, 0% of other religious affiliations (Evangelic, Serbian Orthodox, other), and 7.1% of those with no religious affiliation. [83]
The circumcision rate was reported to be 8.5% in 2016. [13]
In Finland, the overall prevalence of circumcision is 2–4%, according to a recent publication by the Finnish Health Ministry. [84]
A 2016 report found that the circumcision rate in Croatia was 1.34%. [13]
Belgium, [85] [86] Albania, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. [26]
In Bosnia and Herzegovina the circumcision rate was 58.7% in 2018. [87] Another study shows a circumcision rate of 41.6% in Bosnia and Herzegovina. [88]
In Albania during the years 2008–09 the percentage of men age 15–49 who reported having been circumcised was 47.7%. [89] In the years 2017–18 the circumcision rate in Albania had declined to 36.8%. [90]
A study on genital sensitivity from 2013 recruited ~1400 adult men through leaflets randomly distributed at railway stations in Belgium. In this study 22.6% of the participants reported being circumcised. [85] The majority identified as being Caucasian with only a very small minority reporting being Asian, Arabic or African. In another more recent (2023) and similarly designed study on genital sensitivity 21.7% (152 out of 702) of participants reported being circumcised. [86]
According to data from the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (NIHDI or RIZIV), the number of circumcisions performed in Belgium amounted to 25,286 in the year of 2011. The vast majority of the procedures were performed on individuals aged < 16 years old. If this rate remains stable it is estimated that over time the circumcision rate for boys aged 16 will reach 31.71%. [91]
Kosovo (91.7%), Azerbaijan (98.5%) and Turkey (98.6%). [13]
Circumcision reached its peak in Australia in the 1950s with a rate of more than 80%, but steadily fell to an estimated 15% in 2012. [92]
The Australian Longitudinal Study of Health and Relationships is a computer assisted telephone interview of males aged 16–64 that uses a nationally representative population sample. [93] In 2005 the interview found that the prevalence of circumcision in Australia was roughly 58%. Circumcision status was more common with males over 30 than males under 30, and more common with males who were born in Australia. 66% of males born in Australia were circumcised and less than 1/3 of males under 30 were circumcised. [7] There has been a decline in the rate of infant circumcision in Australia. [11] [94] The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) estimated in 2010 that 10 to 20 percent of newborn boys were being circumcised, [95] but the prevalence of male circumcision is much higher due to the presence of older circumcised males remaining in the population. [96] Medicare Australia records show the number of males younger than six months that underwent circumcision dropped from 19,663 in 2007/08 to 6,309 (4%) in 2016/17 [97] and further to 3,992 (2.48%) in 2023. [98]
According to the World Health Organization, fewer than 20% of males are circumcised in New Zealand in 2007. [11] In New Zealand routine circumcision for which there is no medical indication is uncommon and no longer publicly funded within the public hospital system. [99] In a study of men born in 1972–1973 in Dunedin, 40.2% were circumcised. [100] In a study of men born in 1977 in Christchurch, 26.1% were circumcised. [101] A 1991 survey conducted in Waikato found that 7% of male infants were circumcised. [102]
Circumcision for cultural reasons is routine in Pacific Island countries. [99]
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. FGM prevalence varies worldwide, but is majorly present in some countries of Africa, Asia and Middle East, and within their diasporas. As of 2024, UNICEF estimates that worldwide 230 million girls and women had been subjected to one or more types of FGM.
HIV/AIDS originated in the early 20th century and remains a significant public health challenge, particularly in Africa. Although the continent constitutes about 17% of the world's population, it bears a disproportionate burden of the epidemic. As of 2023, around 25.6 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were living with HIV, accounting for over two-thirds of the global total. The majority of new infections and AIDS-related deaths occur in Eastern and Southern Africa, which house approximately 55% of the global HIV-positive population.
Men who have sex with men (MSM) are men who engage in sexual activity with other men, regardless of their sexual orientation or sexual identity. The term was created by epidemiologists in the 1990s, to better study and communicate the spread of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS between all sexually active males, not strictly those identifying as gay, bisexual, pansexual or various other sexualities, but also for example male prostitutes. The term is often used in medical literature and social research to describe such men as a group. It does not describe any specific kind of sexual activity, and which activities are covered by the term depends on context. The alternative term "males who have sex with males" is sometimes considered more accurate in cases where those described may not be legal adults.
Circumcision likely has ancient roots among several ethnic groups in sub-equatorial Africa, Egypt, and Arabia, though the specific form and extent of circumcision has varied. Ritual male circumcision is known to have been practiced by South Sea Islanders, Aboriginal peoples of Australia, Sumatrans, and some Ancient Egyptians.
Male circumcision reduces the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission from HIV positive women to men in high risk populations.
The global pandemic of HIV/AIDS began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2023, HIV/AIDS had killed approximately 40.4 million people, and approximately 39 million people were infected with HIV globally. Of these, 29.8 million people (75%) are receiving antiretroviral treatment. There were about 630,000 deaths from HIV/AIDS in 2022. The 2015 Global Burden of Disease Study estimated that the global incidence of HIV infection peaked in 1997 at 3.3 million per year. Global incidence fell rapidly from 1997 to 2005, to about 2.6 million per year. Incidence of HIV has continued to fall, decreasing by 23% from 2010 to 2020, with progress dominated by decreases in Eastern Africa and Southern Africa. As of 2023, there are about 1.3 million new infections of HIV per year globally.
In 2008, 4.7 million people in Asia were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Asia's epidemic peaked in the mid-1990s, and annual HIV incidence has declined since then by more than half. Regionally, the epidemic has remained somewhat stable since 2000.
HIV/AIDS is one of the most serious health concerns in South Africa. South Africa has the highest number of people afflicted with HIV of any country, and the fourth-highest adult HIV prevalence rate, according to the 2019 United Nations statistics. About 8 million South Africans out of the 60 million population live with HIV.
Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. Topical or locally injected anesthesia is generally used to reduce pain and physiologic stress. Circumcision is generally electively performed, most commonly done as a form of preventive healthcare, as a religious obligation, or as a cultural practice. It is also an option for cases of phimosis, other pathologies that do not resolve with other treatments, and chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs). The procedure is contraindicated in cases of certain genital structure abnormalities or poor general health.
Uganda's health system is composed of health services delivered to the public sector, by private providers, and by traditional and complementary health practitioners. It also includes community-based health care and health promotion activities.
The very high rate of human immunodeficiency virus infection experienced in Uganda during the 1980s and early 1990s created an urgent need for people to know their HIV status. The only option available to them was offered by the National Blood Transfusion Service, which carries out routine HIV tests on all the blood that is donated for transfusion purposes. The great need for testing and counseling resulted in a group of local non-governmental organizations such as The AIDS Support Organisation, Uganda Red Cross, Nsambya Home Care, the National Blood Bank, the Uganda Virus Research Institute together with the Ministry of Health establishing the AIDS Information Centre in 1990. This organization worked to provide HIV testing and counseling services with the knowledge and consent of the client involved.
HIV/AIDS in Lesotho constitutes a very serious threat to Basotho and to Lesotho's economic development. Since its initial detection in 1986, HIV/AIDS has spread at alarming rates in Lesotho. In 2000, King Letsie III declared HIV/AIDS a natural disaster. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in 2016, Lesotho's adult prevalence rate of 25% is the second highest in the world, following Eswatini.
HIV/AIDS in Eswatini was first reported in 1986 but has since reached epidemic proportions. As of 2016, Eswatini had the highest prevalence of HIV among adults aged 15 to 49 in the world (27.2%).
Rwanda faces a generalized epidemic, with an HIV prevalence rate of 3.1 percent among adults ages 15 to 49. The prevalence rate has remained relatively stable, with an overall decline since the late 1990s, partly due to improved HIV surveillance methodology. In general, HIV prevalence is higher in urban areas than in rural areas, and women are at higher risk of HIV infection than men. Young women ages 15 to 24 are twice as likely to be infected with HIV as young men in the same age group. Populations at higher risk of HIV infection include people in prostitution and men attending clinics for sexually transmitted infections.
Various issues in medicine relate to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people. According to the US Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), besides HIV/AIDS, issues related to LGBTQ health include breast and cervical cancer, hepatitis, mental health, substance use disorders, alcohol use, tobacco use, depression, access to care for transgender persons, issues surrounding marriage and family recognition, conversion therapy, refusal clause legislation, and laws that are intended to "immunize health care professionals from liability for discriminating against persons of whom they disapprove."
Syphilis is a bacterial infection transmitted by sexual contact and is believed to have infected 12 million people in 1999 with greater than 90% of cases in the developing world. It affects between 700,000 and 1.6 million pregnancies a year, resulting in spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, and congenital syphilis. In Sub-Saharan Africa syphilis contributes to approximately 20% of perinatal deaths.
Since reports of emergence and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States between the 1970s and 1980s, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has frequently been linked to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) by epidemiologists and medical professionals. It was first noticed after doctors discovered clusters of Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in homosexual men in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco in 1981. The first official report on the virus was published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on June 5, 1981, and detailed the cases of five young gay men who were hospitalized with serious infections. A month later, The New York Times reported that 41 homosexuals had been diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma, and eight had died less than 24 months after the diagnosis was made.
Female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone is the common practice of removing all or part of the female's genitalia for cultural and religious initiation purposes, or as a custom to prepare them for marriage. Sierra Leone is one of 28 countries in Africa where female genital mutilation (FGM) is known to be practiced and one of few that has not banned it. It is widespread in part due to it being an initiation rite into the "Bondo," though initiation rite-related FGM was criminalised in 2019. The type most commonly practised in Sierra Leone is Type IIb, removal of part or all of the clitoris and the labia minora. As of 2013, it had a prevalence of 89.6%.
Circumcision in Africa, and the rites of initiation in Africa, as well as "the frequent resemblance between details of ceremonial procedure in areas thousands of kilometres apart, indicate that the circumcision ritual has an old tradition behind it and in its present form is the result of a long process of development."
Syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection, is a major danger to public health, particularly in developing countries, including those in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease, whose origin is contested amongst researchers, arrived in Africa no later than the 16th century. Since then, it has spread to individuals across the continent. It heavily affects pregnant women, who can end up miscarrying or giving birth to a child already infected. Its relationship with factors such as circumcision, education, and the availability of screening have all been researched.
The World Health Organization recognizes male circumcision as an important intervention in reducing the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV in men.
The prevalence of male circumcision in Britain was 20.7% [95% confidence interval (CI): 19.3–21.8].
...this is probably an underestimate of the true incidence of circumcised males, which is likely closer to 80 percent...
As a result, there are already indications of increasing demand for male circumcision in traditionally non-circumcising societies in Southern Africa.
Circumcision is not usually performed by public sector health care providers in Mexico and we estimate the prevalence to be 10% to 31%, depending on the population.
...this is probably an underestimate of the true incidence of circumcised males, which is likely closer to 80 percent...
The mean mewborn male circumcision rate was 55.9%. When we controlled for other factors, hospitals in states in which Medicaid covers routine male circumcision had circumcision rates that were 24 percentage points higher than did hospitals in states without such coverage (P < .001).
Researchers should be aware that infant circumcision rates [in the United States] are likely to be significantly higher than hospital discharge data might suggest.
"The reason the stats are bogus," Dr. Seppa explains, "is that the numbers are based on what happens in hospitals … it's underestimated because people no longer circumcise at the hospital." Seppa estimates it would take "months of tallying" procedures at every private office and clinic in the community to get an accurate number.
Circumcision for cultural reasons is routine in Pacific Island countries.