PEPFAR plans to end their support of infant circumcision.
Background: PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) has used millions of tax dollars in a campaign to circumcise Africa under the guise of reducing HIV risks, based on some very controversial studies.
(For more on this, watch my film American Circumcision, in which we interview both the authors of those studies and their critics.)
PEPFAR 2020 Country Operational Plan Guidance
The draft of their 2020 Country Operational Plan
Guidance says they are ending their support of infant circumcision due to a high rate of “adverse events” and circumcision complications.
In the plan, they admit to using the Mogen clamp, a circumcision device sued out of business for its high botch rate. (I cover that legal case in my documentary American Circumcision.)
These are children who will have to go through their entire lives with damaged genitals. PEPFAR used a device known to cause errors on a massive scale.
PEPFAR claims to have done 22.8 million circumcisions.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave 40 million of your tax dollars to this program.
Ending this program would be good on multiple levels.
However, these guidelines are only a draft, and still open for public comment until December 13.
Suggestion For Public Comment
PEPFAR is making the right decision to end their infant circumcision campaign.
Do not do or say anything that would cause them to re-think that decision.
However, there is room for public comment…
PEPFAR says on their website: “Your comments on the guidance are welcome and encouraged, and it is recommended that you are as specific as possible when submitting feedback.”
Meaning: PEPFAR will not read your long philosophical rant. They may not even be interested in public comments at all, and their request for comments is only a formality.
However, they might read a SPECIFIC comment on a SPECIFIC part, with a SPECIFIC suggestion.
If you leave a comment, I would suggest:
- Say you support PEPFAR’s decision to stop performing infant circumcision
- Ask for MORE DATA on adverse events
I believe we have the right to the full data. How many adverse events were there? What types of adverse events? To what age children? With what device?
The current draft does not give the exact percentage or number of adverse events. It simple says that it was significant enough for them to stop their infant circumcision campaign.
What is a high percentage botches for 22.8 million circumcisions? At even a 1% botch rate, that is 200,000 sexually damaged children.
Remember, millions of American tax dollars were used to circumcise African children with a device known to cause errors and damage, and it resulted in a such a high rate of adverse events that PEPFAR is now considering ending the program.
I believe the public has a right to know the full results of PEPFAR’s actions.
You can leave a respectful, well-thought-out comment here:
If you want to learn more about this issue, watch my documentary American Circumcision.
