Circumcision booms in Kenya

Kenya government hopes to circumcise two million people in the Luo province where the practice is abhorred. Top politicians from the area confessed they have gone to have the foreskin of their male organs removed as part of an awareness to curb HIV/AIDS. They spoke to spur people on to go and circumcise.Standing before an audience of 500 in the western city of Kisumu, including Prime Minister Raila Odinga, three government ministers and an MP said they had secretly undergone the operation, the BBC reported.Medical researchers contend that it reduces the risk of HIV infection among men, but have maintained that using condoms is far more effective. It is reported that five other MPs of Kenya have pledged their intention to have a circumcision – after seeking medical advice – as part of a push to promote the culturally taboo practice.The prevalence of HIV/AIDS is high in the Luo community and the government has recently introduced a programme to promote the practice to curb the spread of Aids.Unlike the nearby Luhya community, who last month turned out in large numbers to undergo circumcision in an annual festival, removing the foreskin is not performed as rite of passage amongst the Luo.The politicians said they feared losing their post, but have received an unflinching support from their colleagues – including Odinga’s brother, an assistant minister who agreed to undergo the procedure. It is seen as a boost for the Luos to support circumcision.

Support

Hundreds of young men have begun to turn up for circumcision at public and private hospitals. Robert Ogol, a youth counsellor, is one who has snubbed the advice. He accused the community’s elders of being afraid of change and said young men should be allowed to make their own decision about the practice.”I got circumcised while I was already married. Since I got circumcised, even my wife can tell you that she is very comfortable,” he said. At the Lumumba Health Centre in Kisumu, more than 80 medical practitioners have already received training.”We are teaching young men and older people about circumcision. They usually come for circumcision of their own free will,” says Wycliffe Omondi, one of the doctors providing training at the centre.

Statistics

Nearly 1,000 men have been circumcised since March and medical workers receive two days of training, he said. However, the Luo Council of Elders is not convinced that circumcision lowers the risk of infection. “I don’t think it will be a solution to fight the spread of Aids,” said Joe Asila, a pastor and Luo elder. “Other communities practise circumcision, but there is still a high prevalence of HIV/Aids,” he said.Meanwhile, the practice is catching up well in Malawi where hundreds of men are reported queuing at medical centres to be circumcised.

Museveni: Africa can solve food crisis

Africa has sufficient agricultural potential to become a food basket for the whole world, President Museveni of Uganda said. He said the continent could solve the current food crisis if the relevant production interventions are undertaken during the launch of the P4P at the United Nations.Purchase 4 Progress (P4P) is an initiative of the World Food Programme (WFP) which aims at transforming the way WFP purchases food in developing countries by giving priority to small scale farmers to sell their surplus produce to WFP at competitive prices while giving the food to those who have little or no food at all.According to a press release from the state house in Uganda, the programme which will initially target 21 countries, Uganda inclusive, aims at helping farmers to earn reasonable income and predictable market for their produce. It will initially target 350,000 households over a period of 5 years.The WFP is supported by the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation and the Howard G. Buffet Foundation.President Museveni launched the programme jointly with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, Rwandese President Paul Kagame and the WFP Executive Director Mrs. Josette Sheeran.President Museveni said that 67% of the farmers in Sub-Sahara Africa have been practicing subsistence agriculture and not fully utilizing the region’s agricultural potential. He said that with the current food shortage in the world, it was time for African farmers to engage in commercialized agriculture and produce food beyond their subsistence needs. He, however, noted that interventions in terms of irrigation, the use of fertilizers and other forms of modern agricultural practices need to be emphasized to enable the region produce optimally.Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete welcomed the programme saying that it would help unlock the potential of farmers in rural Africa since they will be assured of the market for their produce. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda lauded WFP for its support to his country. He said that the organization has responded to the feeding needs of over 54,000 people in Rwanda. He also hailed their support through the School Feeding Programme and welcomed the Purchase 4 Progress Programme saying it was an appropriate intervention.Ms. Josette Sheeran, the Executive Director of WFP, said that in addition to purchasing their produce, WFP would facilitate farmers with modern farm inputs, equip them with modern agricultural skills to boost the quality and quantity of their output.Mr. Bill Gates and Mr. Howard Buffet said they were committed to helping farmers in the developing world to better their incomes because they constitute a large part of the poorest of the poor in the world. They said that they committed their organizations to supporting Purchase 4 Progress Programme because its objectives are in line with the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals.

Jail break in Ghana cell

Three cell inmates outwitted police officers at the Agona Nkwanta Police Cells of the Western region of Ghana to escape. In a well-rehearsed plan, one of them complained of stomachache and when Sergeant Eric Sekyi came to his aid, they poured powdered pepper into his eyes.Sources at the police station say, three of the inmates who know about the plan bolted in the process, leaving the blinded police officer wailing in pains. An eyewitness who spoke to Africa News said he chance-met the scene while seeing a friend off on Tuesday dawn.The officer has been rushed to the Dixcove Hospital, the only health facility which is about 20km away from the district capital for medical attention. Doctors say he will be on admission for some days.Meanwhile, the Western Regional police command remained mute over the incidence. Sources at the command however said the police officer has been given a 10 -day ultimatum to re-arrest the bolted inmates to guarantee the continuity of his status as a policeman.Olivia Adeku, the Public Relations officer of the Western Regional Police Command said they would only issue a statement on the issue after the 10-day ultimatum had expired. “It is part of our professional ethics to instruct the police officer to produce the run-away inmates,” she said.