Israeli, African doctors combat HIV

JERUSALEM, July 13 (UPI) -- Israeli and Senegalese doctors will perform male circumcisions in southern and eastern Africa to try to reduce HIV transmission, team organizers said.

An agreement was reached at a recent visit of Senegalese doctors and health officials to Israel, Operation Abraham, the organization in charge of the medical teams, said.

During their visit, team members participated in workshops and visited Israeli hospitals where adult circumcisions are performed. They also learned about the traditional Jewish circumcisions ceremonies carried out on a community level, a statement said.

The workshops operate in accordance with guidelines established by the World Health Organization and the United Nations AIDS program, organization said.

Operation Abraham is a consortium of institutions committed to training local doctors in Africa in the surgical procedures of male circumcision as a method of HIV/AIDS prevention.

The organization said scientific studies from three trials conducted in Uganda, Kenya and South Africa in 2007 showed male circumcision was effective in dramatically reducing transmission of the Human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.