ArticlePloS one2017
Is traditional male circumcision effective as an HIV prevention strategy? Evidence from Lesotho.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Traditional male circumcision and the risk for HIV transmission among men: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2023Pooled it
- The impact of male circumcision on risk of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa: a household fixed-effects analysis of 279,351 men from 29 countries.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Investigating the Factors Influencing Traditional Male Circumcision and Its Contribution to HIV Transmission Amongst Men in Lesotho: A Multilevel Binary Logistic Regression Approach.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- The real-world association between male circumcision and risk of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa: a household fixed-effects analysis of 279,351 men from 29 countries.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Strong Association Between HIV Incidence and Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 in Zambia and South Africa: Prospective Data From the HPTN 071 (PopART) Trial.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Male circumcision perceptions among HIV vaccine trial participants in Soweto: Qualitative study.Journal of the colleges of medicine of South Africa · 2024Article
- HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B virus infection and male circumcision in five Sub-Saharan African countries: Findings from the Population-based HIV Impact Assessment surveys, 2015-2019.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Exploring initiation schools' impact on HIV and AIDS management in the Vhembe district of South Africa: An ethnography.Health SA = SA Gesondheid · 2023Article
- Defining the Global Research and Programmatic Agenda and Priority Actions for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2022Review
- Could Vhavenda initiation schools be a panacea for HIV and AIDS management in the Vhembe district of South Africa?Curationis · 2022Article
- High HIV prevalence and associated factors in Lesotho: Results from a population-based survey.PloS one · 2022Article
- Mapping male circumcision for HIV prevention efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.BMC medicine · 2020Article
- The Penile Microbiota in Uncircumcised and Circumcised Men: Relationships With HIV and Human Papillomavirus Infections and Cervicovaginal Microbiota.Frontiers in medicine · 2020Review
- Incorporating Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Into Traditional Circumcision Contexts: Experiences of a Local Consortium in Zimbabwe Collaborating With an Ethnic Group.Global health, science and practice · 2019Article
- Male circumcision for HIV prevention: Awareness, risk compensation, and risk perceptions among South African women.Global public health · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In many developing countries, male circumcision has been promoted as an effective HIV prevention strategy, and medical randomized controlled trials have indeed shown a causal link. However, there is limited empirical evidence to support this conclusion in countries where individuals can voluntary opt for different types of circumcision. The present study considers male circumcision in Lesotho, where HIV prevalence is among the highest in the world (23%). Here, men can opt for one of two types of circumcision: traditional male circumcision in initiation schools, or the medical option in health clinics. This paper investigates whether the former has medical effects on individual HIV status that are as beneficial as those shown for the latter. Controlling for the potential individual behavioral response after the operation, it was found that circumcision performed in initiation schools wholly offset the medical benefits of the surgical procedure. This supports anecdotal evidence that the operation performed by traditional circumcisers does not have the same protective effect against HIV transmission as the medical operation. No evidence of "disinhibition" behavior among circumcised men was found, nor differential risky sexual behavior among men circumcised, traditionally or medically. Considering that, in Lesotho, traditional male circumcision is undertaken by more than 90% of circumcised men, the findings highlight the need for further research into how the operation in initiation schools is performed and its medical benefits.
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