BALTIMORE, July 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — More than 2 million men and youth across sub-Saharan Africa have reduced their lifetime risk of HIV infection by accessing Jhpiego-supported voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) services. This milestone represents more than 15 percent of the World Health Organization-estimated 11.7 million VMMCs performed worldwide.

Jhpiego, a nonprofit global health affiliate of the Johns Hopkins University, has worked with the governments of 12 African countries since 2008 to implement VMMC as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy aimed at interrupting the transmission of HIV to save lives. Studies have shown that VMMC reduces female-to-male HIV transmission by approximately 70 percent.

Jhpiego’s work to provide 2 million safe, high-quality VMMC procedures has been funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program.

New mathematical modeling to be released by PEPFAR through USAID’s Supporting Operational AIDS Research project suggests Jhpiego’s results alone could avert more than 50,000 HIV infections through 2025.

“The world has made incredible progress in its efforts to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. Jhpiego is proud to have played a part in that progress. With the strong leadership and partnership of local governments and providers, and the support of the US Government, we look forward to accelerating the pace of change to create an AIDS-free generation,” said Leslie Mancuso, Jhpiego CEO and President.

In cooperation with countries’ ministries of health and defense, and the World Health Organization, Jhpiego has been instrumental in preventing the spread of HIV on global and national levels. Jhpiego has helped shape the clinical standards for quality VMMC implementation and co-written the WHO reference manual that serves as the definitive clinical resource for VMMC programs. Jhpiego has worked with countries to train thousands of health workers to provide safe, high-quality procedures and developed quality assurance and improvement protocols for VMMC programs.

Increasing access to VMMC services has been one of Jhpiego’s most profound contributions to the challenge of preventing the spread of HIV. Jhpiego’s work has enabled men and boys across Africa to access HIV testing, information about sexual and reproductive health, and other health screening, along with circumcision. For more information, visit www.jhpiego.org.