To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has evaluated on the effects of male circumcision on the risk of contracting HIV. (304406)

The Expert Advisory Group on AIDS, which provides the Department with expert scientific advice on HIV, keeps the evidence on the effect of male circumcision on prevention of HIV transmission under review.

Male circumcision has been demonstrated to reduce heterosexual (female-to-male) transmission of HIV by around 60 per cent. in randomised controlled trials in Africa.