Five South African physicians and 12 nurses – trained by the Israel-initiated
Operation Abraham Collaborative (OAC) based in Jerusalem – have begun to perform
circumcisions on adult males to reduce their risk of being infected with
HIV.
Called Shesha (rapid, fastmoving in Zulu), the project is being
carried out in Kwazulu/ Natal under the leadership of the St. Mary’s Hospital
men’s health clinic in Pinetown. OAC is a group of international experts who
advise UN, public and private sector organizations in high-volume and
high-quality medical circumcision.
This team assisted the World Health
Organization in developing the manual on adult circumcision under local
anesthesia, and its methodology was selected by South Africa National Department
of Health as a “best practice” in circumcision.
An OAC pilot project in
Swaziland trained 10 percent of Swazi doctors in delivering safe, swift
and
effective circumcision for HIV prevention.
The circumcision program and
the training by OAC are supported by grants from: Victor Daitz
Foundation,
Discovery Health of South Africa and the US Centers for Disease Control
and
Prevention.
OAC was initiated by Dr. Inon Schenker, who also
serves as the organization’s global health consultant.
Sir Roger Moore,
famed for his film portrayals of James Bond and a UNICEF Goodwill
Ambassador,
and his wife Kristina, have granted their support and donated funds for
this
project in South Africa.
The minor operation to remove the foreskin is
carried out under local anesthesia. Private electronic records are kept
on the
procedure.