‘Swazi Observer’ story on deaths caused by circumcision as part of plan to wipe out African race found to be false

The Swazi Observer newspaper published a bogus news story on Friday (24 August 2018) saying that men who had been circumcised to minimise HIV infection would likely die after 10 years.

The Observer said that an NGO in the United States called Deltas Clare (the Observer also called it Delta Clare in its story) conducted research and found that the medication used for circumcised men reacts after 10 years. Deltas Clare did not publish the report but it ended up on the WikiLeaks website, it said.

The Observer also reported, ‘WikiLeaks says apart from the HIV/AIDS pandemic, circumcision of men is part of the Western’s plan to wipe out the African race.’

It took less than a minute searching on Google to discover the story was bogus. The Observer clearly had not bothered to check it out.

Thankfully the proper journalists at Malawi24 did. It reported, ‘Firstly, there is no organisation in the public domain that is based in the US by the name. This raised the first alarm in story.

‘Secondly, there is no study that has recently been published recently by WikiLeaks on circumcision.

‘Not only that, WikiLeaks database does not have any research report by Deltas Clare or an organisation that goes by that name.

‘Lastly, a study of this great magnitude would have been published in high ranking journals and media outlets across the world.

‘In the contrary, a simple google search tracks the story to on-line and social media outlets in Zambia which are of questionable repute.

‘The sites include Zambian Watch and The Zambian Observer. A quick scan through these publications hints at the sites striving on either Fake News or unfounded gossip. A time stamp of the stories shows that the story was first published in Zambia on the two sites on 18 August 2018 around 14:30.’

It concluded, ‘VERDICT: FALSE. While medical effectiveness of circumcision in the first against HIV is yet to be established with conclusive evidence, our verdict drawn from the above evidence is that the story and all its claims are wholly false.’

See also

‘Observer’ Misreports Police On LGBTI

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/observer-misreports-police-on-lgbti.html

‘Observer’ Names Another Rape Victim

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/10/observer-names-another-rape-victim.html

SWAZI CIRCUMCISION DRIVE FAILING

As the discredited campaign to circumcise men in Swaziland to prevent HIV infection continues to fail, two government ministries are now targeting schoolboys.

A Back to School 2017 campaign has been launched in by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education in partnership. It aims to help get 80 percent of Swazi males circumcised by 2022. Schoolboys will be ‘sensitised’ to the supposed-need to have their foreskins cut off to prevent HIV infection.

The target that 80 percent of Swazi males between ages 15 and 49 should be circumcised was made in 2010 when the Accelerated Saturation Initiative (ASI) was introduced into the kingdom with the aim of reaching the goal within a year.

The programme, a partnership between the Swazi Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the US-based Futures Group, was then extended to March 2012 when initial efforts failed to achieve the targeted results and only about 20 percent - or 32,000 - people were circumcised through the programme. The figure for the number of males in the targeted age range is not easily available but there are estimated to be 384,171 males aged between 15 and 65 in Swaziland.

 US$15.5 million was spent on the programme, or US$484 per circumcised male.

In 2015, the deadline to reach the target was extended to 2018. Now, that deadline has been extended further to 2022. The Swazi Ministry of Health reported 96,487 males had been circumcised since 2009.

The male medical circumcision programme which has been introduced in a number of countries in Africa, but not in developed countries such as the United States or in Europe, is based on a claim that removing the foreskin helps to prevent the spread of HIV. However, evidence does not support this. 

A report called Levels and spread of HIV seroprevalence and associated factors: evidence from national household surveys published by USAID, for example, which studied 22 developing countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, found, ‘There appears no clear pattern of association between male circumcision and HIV prevalence - in 8 of 18 countries with data, HIV prevalence is lower among circumcised men, while in the remaining 10 countries it is higher.

 

In Swaziland, even before the ASI was started in 2010, the Government of Swaziland knew circumcision had no effect on the rate of HIV in the kingdom. The Swaziland Demographic and Health Survey (SDHS) of 2007 reported the infection rate for circumcised males was 22 percent while for those uncircumcised it was 20 percent, which suggested that circumcision did not prevent HIV spreading. 

The Swaziland Government has signed up for circumcision in a big way since 2010, even announcing that newly born babies, who have no say in the matter, were expected to be cut. 

People in Swaziland are being misled into believing that circumcision can help, when the international medical community continues to debate whether there is any evidence that it can. An internationally-based organisation called Doctors Opposing Circumcision (DOC) published a lengthy report in which it urged that ‘Both the public and the medical community must guard against being overwhelmed by the hyperbolic promotion of male circumcision.’

DOC reported that there is no clear evidence as to the effects of circumcision.

See also

HAS SWAZI KING BEEN CIRCUMCISED?

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/07/has-swazi-king-been-circumcised.html

 

CIRCUMCISION AND HIV PREVENTION

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2010/11/circumcision-and-hiv-prevention.html

SWAZI CHURCHES CIRCUMCISION BLUNDER

Churches in Swaziland have agreed to back male circumcision as a way to prevent the spread of HIV even though there in no concrete proof that the procedure works and attempts to get people to have the operation in the past have failed.

In 2010 the Accelerated Saturation Initiative (ASI) was introduced into the kingdom with the target to circumcise 80 percent of Swazi males between ages 15 and 49 within a year.

The programme, a partnership between the Swazi Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the US-based Futures Group, was then extended to March 2012 when initial efforts failed to achieve the targeted results and only about 20 percent - or 32,000 - people were circumcised through the programme.  

US$15.5 million was spent on the programme, or US$484 per circumcised male.

Now, the deadline to reach the target has been extended to 2018. 

The male medical circumcision programme which has been introduced in a number of countries in Africa, but not in developed countries such as the United States or in Europe, is based on a claim that removing the foreskin helps to prevent the spread of HIV. However, evidence does not support this. 

A report called Levels and spread of HIV seroprevalence and associated factors: evidence from national household surveys published by USAID, for example, which studied 22 developing countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, found, ‘There appears no clear pattern of association between male circumcision and HIV prevalence - in 8 of 18 countries with data, HIV prevalence is lower among circumcised men, while in the remaining 10 countries it is higher.

 

In Swaziland, even before the ASI was started in 2010, the Government of Swaziland knew circumcision had no effect on the rate of HIV in the kingdom. The Swaziland Demographic and Health Survey (SDHS) of 2007 reported the infection rate for circumcised males was 22 percent while for those uncircumcised it was 20 percent, which suggested that circumcision did not prevent HIV spreading. 

The Church Forum, which is formed by the Swaziland Conference of Churches, League of Churches, Council of Swaziland Churches, Swaziland Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist and International Tabernacle Ministries, issued an official statement welcoming the procedure for medical purposes last week (15 January 2015). Churches had been reluctant to join the campaign because there were issues for them about whether God approved of circumcision. 

The Swaziland Government has signed up for circumcision in a big way since 2010, even announcing that newly born babies, who have no say in the matter, were expected to be cut. 

People in Swaziland are being misled into believing that circumcision can help, when the international medical community continues to debate whether there is any evidence that it can. An internationally-based organisation called Doctors Opposing Circumcision (DOC) published a lengthy report in which it urged that ‘Both the public and the medical community must guard against being overwhelmed by the hyperbolic promotion of male circumcision.’

DOC reported that there is no clear evidence as to the effects of circumcision.

‘One study found that male circumcision had no protective effect for women and another study found that male circumcision increased risk for women.

‘[A different study] found more HIV infection in circumcised men.

‘[Yet another study] found no evidence that lack of circumcision is a risk factor for HIV infection.

‘A study from India found little difference between circumcised and non-circumcised men.

‘A study carried out in South Africa found that male circumcision offered only a slight protective effect.

‘A study carried out among American naval personnel found no difference in the incidence of HIV infection between non-circumcised and circumcised men.'

This led DOC to conclude, ‘Instituting a program of male circumcision is of dubious value. It will divert resources from proven methods of epidemic control and it may generate a false sense of security in males who have been circumcised. The desensitization of the penis that frequently results from male circumcision is likely to make men less willing to use condoms. A program of male circumcision very likely may worsen the epidemic.’

The group had its own idea on why places like Swaziland might have higher rates of HIV infection than elsewhere, ‘The epidemic in Africa may have little to do with lack of circumcision and everything to do with the percentage of the female population engaged in female sex work. One study found a definite link between the number of female sex workers in the population and the level of HIV infection.’

See also

HAS SWAZI KING BEEN CIRCUMCISED?

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/07/has-swazi-king-been-circumcised.html

 

CIRCUMCISION AND HIV PREVENTION

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2010/11/circumcision-and-hiv-prevention.html

CIRCUMCISION PROPAGANDA EXPOSED

Even 14-yeqr-old schoolboys are beginning to see through the propaganda that says men should be circumcised to stop the spread of HIV.

This letter to the editor is from the Times of Swaziland today (29 September 2011).

What are we not being told about circumcision?

Sir,

Kindly allow me space in your widely read newspaper to express my views on circumcision. I am a 14-year-old boy.

Our teacher gave us homework on circumcision so I did research on the subject.

I was the only one who came up with a disadvantage for circumcision.

It read, "10 per cent of the nerve endings are cut during circumcision and your pleasure will be reduced too."

Most of my classmates said the only risk they were told of at the clinic before they were circumcised was pain that would last for a few days; otherwise they told them all the good reasons why they should be circumcised.

There was a heated debate because our teacher did not believe me. I told them that I got this information from the internet and then asked my aunt, who works with issues of sexual reproductive health rights, and she confirmed that yes, it is a fact that the nerve-endings are cut in circumcision and that has an effect on the pleasure, as those nerves contribute to pleasure.

Campaigning

It became clear that those campaigning for circumcision are pushing their agenda without giving us all the information.

I am not circumcised yet but I want to be, although now I am scared because there might be other risks that are not being publicised. We will only discover them as time goes on and there can be no reversal.

I plead with those who are campaigning for circumcision to tell us both the advantages and disadvantages. It is our right to know about these things before we make a decision.

I have exercised my right to know in celebrating International Right To Know Day by writing this article and sharing information.

Concerned Swazi Boy

See also

HAS SWAZI KING BEEN CIRCUMCISED?

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/07/has-swazi-king-been-circumcised.html

HAS SWAZI KING BEEN CIRCUMCISED?

Swaziland’s King Mswati III has told his male subjects that they must get circumcised in order to defeat what he called the HIV ‘terrorist’.

Apart from the fact that it demonstrates to us all that the king has no understanding of what the word ‘terrorist’ means, it shows also that he knows nothing about how to prevent the spread of HIV.

Circumcision doesn’t prevent the ‘spread’ of HIV, responsible sexual behaviour does. Wearing a condom will stop you passing on (or getting) HIV, cutting off your foreskin will not.

Has King Mswati himself been circumcised? If he wants his male subjects to have themselves mutilated he ought to at least have his own penis hacked about.

I look forward to the King’s organ the Swazi Observer giving us the definitive answer to my question. Photography is optional.

I have written a lot on this blog about the lies behind circumcision and HIV, but I have never before drawn your attention to this blogsite (and associated Facebook page).

Joseph4GI (Joseph for Genital Integrity) is against genital cutting and has been commenting on the campaign to get Swazi men to have the snip. He reports that Swazi men are ‘Not As Dumb As American Circumcision Advocates Had Hoped’.

Here is one of his blogposts. There is also a Facebook site called You Can Conquer Without Circumcision: Say NO to "Soka Uncobe"

Swazi Men Not As Dumb As American Circumcision Advocates Had Hoped

I've already posted on how American money is being spent to promote male circumcision as HIV prevention in Africa via PEPFAR: [President’s Emergency Program For Aids Relief]
http://joseph4gi.blogspot.com/2011/05/soka-uncobe-our-us-tax-dollars-at-work.html

And I've already posted on how the promotion of circumcision is sending conflicting messages, making the situation worse:
http://joseph4gi.blogspot.com/2011/05/male-circumcision-and-hiv-in-africa.html

Of particular interest is the Soka Uncobe, or "circumcise and conquer" campaign, which aims to circumcise over 80% of the male population in Swaziland. I also posted an article on how the campaign was already turning out to be disaster, as it was percieved to send the message that circumcision made you a "conqueror" of women, and that once you were circumcised you "conquered" HIV.
http://www.observer.org.sz/index.php?news=24311

The campaign to circumcise 80% of Swazi men was launched in spite of the fact that earlier studies had shown HIV to be prevalent among CIRCUMCISED men:

"As Table 14.10 shows, the relationship between HIV prevalence and circumcision status is not in the expected direction. Circumcised men have a slightly higher HIV infection rate than men who are not circumcised (22 percent compared with 20 percent)".
http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pdf/FR202/FR202.pdf

However, it looks as though Swazi men aren't as gullible as people behind PEPFAR had hoped.

"The ambitious, US-funded campaign hopes to reach one in eight Swazi men, but has had disappointing results so far.

The clinic performing Mfanzile’s procedure is geared to see 80 patients a day. At best 15 trickle in - fewer than even before the campaign began in February.

Adverts urging men to “circumcise and conquer” are everywhere but organisers now admit they may not reach their targets as quickly as hoped."
http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/news/africa-at-forefront-of-aids-war-1.1075615

Do American circumcision advocates really think African men are simply that stupid?

The article continues:
"Most of the time in Swaziland, men are the decision makers. Men must be in the forefront of this battle,” said Health Minister Benedict Xaba. “It takes time for a Swazi person to accept something new; to accept change."

Or perhaps the men of Swaziland are not as dumb as they look.

The so-called "studies" have numerous flaws that bring their credibility into question, not to mention that their conclusions don't correlate with real world empirical data:
http://joseph4gi.blogspot.com/2011/05/where-circumcision-doesnt-prevent-hiv.html

But assuming the studies were 100% accurate, circumcision would still fail as an HIV prevention method. Circumcision is so ineffective at preventing HIV transmission that even the very authors of these studies cannot stress the use of condoms enough.

Conductors of these "mass circumcision campaigns" have the double burden of trying to convince men to undergo circumcision, AND, to make sure that they know that once they're circumcised, they'd still have to wear condoms.

But once a man has learned that all he has to do is wear a condom, why would he EVER choose to become circumcised? If he chooses circumcision, isn't that a sign that he DOESN'T really understand?

Some men have chosen to undergo circumcision. But what were they actually told? What did they understand circumcision would to for them? Were they told the truth? Or were they told whatever circumcision promoters needed to tell them in order to secure more numbers for their 80% quota?

Whatever they're telling them, it looks like not all of them are buying it. It's heartening to know that in spite of all the money, lies and deception being hurled at these African men, most have the good sense to know better.

I only feel sorry for those who were ensnared by the American mutilation machine. What must go through the minds of those who go to a clinic and find out they were infected with HIV anyway, despite having gone through radical genital surgery?

What's next for them? Expensive ARTs for the rest of their lives? And the lives of their partners?

Is this what "researchers" mean by "cost-effective?"

These "mass circumcision" campaigns are an insult to the people of Africa, and the American taxpayer. What harassment and abject humiliation to be reeled in by nifty slogans, music and other propaganda to be told you have to both be circumcised AND have to wear condoms.

I hope this serves as a lesson to PEPFAR and others funding these abominable campaigns:
Money and propaganda can only take you so far; not everyone is as dumb as you think.

Most anybody with a brain should be able to figure out that you don't need circumcision if you wear a condom. If men are choosing to get circumcised then there is a problem; they're either not fully understanding, or circumcision promoters are deliberately LYING to them.

This IS going to come back and haunt us in the future.

See also

CIRCUMCISION AND HIV PREVENTION

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2010/11/circumcision-and-hiv-prevention.html

Swazi King: "Better You Than Me"

http://joseph4gi.blogspot.com/2011/07/swazi-king-better-you-than-me.html