Clearinghouse Partners and Contributors

Initiating partners

The partner organisations that initiated this effort are the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), AVAC, and FHI 360.

World Health Organization (WHO)

WHO is the coordinating authority for health within the United Nations (UN) system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries, and monitoring and assessing health trends. WHO is the lead organisation within the UN system for supporting the scaling up of male circumcision service provision. WHO is working with UNAIDS, UNFPA, and UNICEF to assist countries to make evidence-based policy and programme decisions to improve the availability, accessibility, and safety of male circumcision and reproductive health services as an integral component of comprehensive HIV prevention strategies. WHO and UN partners use their globally accepted, complementary, normative, and convening roles to lead policy setting, develop programme guidance, and coordinate research to guide countries in making decisions on implementing and scaling up safe male circumcision services for HIV prevention based on available and emerging evidence. Key WHO materials on male circumcision are available here on the Clearinghouse on Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention site.

 

Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 

UNAIDS is an innovative joint venture of the United Nations, bringing together the efforts and resources of the UNAIDS Secretariat and ten UN system organisations in the AIDS response. The Secretariat headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland — with staff on the ground in more than 80 countries. Coherent action on AIDS by the UN system is coordinated in countries through UN theme groups, and joint programmes on AIDS. UNAIDS’ co-sponsors include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO, and the World Bank. UNAIDS led the preparatory UN work plan on male circumcision and supports WHO as the lead for UN implementation support for the introduction or expansion of safe, voluntary male circumcision services. UNAIDS recommends that male circumcision always be considered as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention package. Key UNAIDS materials on male circumcision are available here on the Clearinghouse on Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention site.

 

AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC)
AVAC is a non-profit, community- and consumer-based organisation that uses public education, policy analysis, advocacy and community mobilization to accelerate the ethical development and global delivery of AIDS vaccines and other HIV prevention options. AVAC’s participation in the Clearinghouse on Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention is one component of its ongoing work on increasing informed civil society input on male circumcision for HIV prevention. AVAC has developed a range of tools for advocates in developing and developed countries and continues to convene civil society conference calls, issue-focused meetings, and electronic dialogues as forums for input on this and other issues in HIV prevention.

 


FHI 360

FHI 360 is a nonprofit human development organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions. Through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, FHI 360 and its international partners — the University of Illinois at Chicago and EngenderHealth — established a Male Circumcision Consortium to improve and expand voluntary male circumcision services in Kenya. FHI serves as the webmaster for the Clearinghouse on Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention and, in partnership with WHO, UNAIDS, and AVAC, develops and selects content for the site.

 

Contributing partners

A number of other organisations contribute materials and information to the site:

 

Jhpiego

For nearly four decades, Jhpiego has put evidence-based health innovations into everyday practice to overcome barriers to high-quality health care services for women and families in limited-resource settings. Jhpiego has been building local and regional capacity to respond to the unmet need for safe male circumcision services since it began a pilot project with the Zambian Ministry of Health in 2003. A co-author with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS of the Manual for Male Circumcision Under Local Anaesthesia (2009, PDF, 2.87 MB), Jhpiego was a key contributor to other WHO/UNAIDS male circumcision tools. Jhpiego is also part of the Male Circumcision Partnership and, with funding from PEPFAR, works closely with local, regional, and international partners to scale up safe, comprehensive male circumcision services in eight other countries in eastern and southern Africa. Jhpiego supports the implementation of voluntary medical male circumcision services through Project IQ.

 


Marie Stopes International

Marie Stopes International (MSI) has joined forces with Population Services International, Jhpiego, and The Population Council to dramatically expand access to male circumcision (MC) services in Zambia and Swaziland over the next five years. Working closely with the governments of both countries, this MC Partnership estimates that it will provide voluntary male circumcision services to more than 650,000 men. The programme will include extensive behaviour change communications for both women and men to highlight the need for safer sex practices and continued condom use. MSI has helped pioneer the delivery of male circumcision services in Africa during recent years, beginning with a pilot outreach programme in Kenya. MSI’s role in the MC Partnership’s programme in Zambia and Swaziland is to establish national networks of public, private, and NGO health service providers. Special emphasis will be placed on reaching remote rural areas via outreach teams.


PSI

Founded in 1970, Population Services International (PSI) is a leading global health organisation with programmes targeting malaria, child survival, HIV, and reproductive health. Working in partnership within the public and private sectors and harnessing the power of the markets, PSI provides life-saving products, clinical services, and behaviour change communications that empower the world's most vulnerable populations to lead healthier lives. PSI currently supports male circumcision service delivery programmes in South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In addition, PSI implements national communications campaigns to complement male circumcision services in Botswana and Kenya. PSI leads the Male Circumcision Partnership, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).


USAID | Health Policy Initiative 

The USAID | Health Policy Initiative is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide global leadership and field-level programming in health policy development and implementation. The initiative provides technical and related assistance to make it possible for women and men around the world to obtain and use the information and services they need for better health, especially in the areas of family planning and reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, and maternal health. The USAID | Health Policy Initiative collaborated with UNAIDS to develop the Male Circumcision Decision-Makers’ Program Planning Tool to assist countries in developing policies for scaling up male circumcision services. This tool allows analysts and decision makers to understand the costs and impact of different policy options for the introduction or expansion of medical male circumcision services.

 

Clearinghouse sponsor

The Clearinghouse is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.