Circumcision plan rejected by Kenyans

KISUMU, Kenya, July 19 (UPI) -- Members of western Kenya's Luo community say a proposed circumcision plan aimed at limiting the spread of AIDS is against their cultural beliefs.

The Luo Council of Elders said the Ministry of Health plan not only violates the community's beliefs, but could lead some Luo members to incorrectly view circumcision as a possible alternative to condoms, the BBC reported Saturday.

The council said community members who want to go forward with the medical procedures can do so.

Being circumcised can significantly reduce the risk of men contracting HIV/AIDS or spreading the disease to women, researchers have found.

The BBC said experts have said the Luo community has a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, in part, because of its cultural beliefs, which include wife inheritance. Wife inheritance is a practice in which a widow is remarried by a brother-in-law or another man chosen by village elders.

Community leaders have said any attempts to contain the spread of the potentially deadly disease would be welcome, but are against including circumcision.