Bringing safer care to families worldwide
SafeCirc® deepens global partnership with Ghana
Dr. David Tomlinson collaborates with Ghanaian midwives to strengthen newborn circumcision training and lay the groundwork for a Center of Excellence in Ghana
Dr. David Tomlinson, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of SafeCirc®, has returned from a January visit to Ghana, where he and his team of nurses spent a week working alongside Ghanaian midwives to advance safer, standardized care for newborn male circumcision. The visit represents an important step toward integrating early infant male circumcision into Ghana’s national midwifery training curriculum and establishing a Center of Excellence in Ghana to ensure that families have sustained access to high-quality care and providers receive ongoing support.
“This is the work I believe in and am committed to for the rest of my life,” said Dr. Tomlinson. “Parents in Ghana deserve the best, safest care possible, grounded in evidence, respect, and the highest clinical standards. That should never be negotiable.”
Strengthening care while respecting local tradition
In Ghana, the vast majority of families choose circumcision for cultural, religious, and health reasons. The procedure is most often performed by midwives—the most trusted providers of newborn and maternal care—and typically occurs between 7 and 14 days of life, after families have returned home from the hospital. Despite the frequency of the procedure, early infant male circumcision has not historically been part of formal midwifery education, resulting in variation in technique, safety practices, and access to the best care.
Dr. Tomlinson was invited to Ghana to help address this gap by working directly with experienced midwives and local leaders to develop standardized training that can be integrated into national education programs. The collaboration focuses on two essential pillars: improving quality through evidence-based techniques and expanding access to safer procedures within existing care pathways.
“Circumcision is nearly universal in Ghana,” Dr. Tomlinson explained. “What varies is the quality and consistency of care. Our goal is to ensure that wherever this procedure is performed, families can rely on the highest standards of safety and precision.”
Public health impact and HIV prevention
The importance of safe, accessible circumcision in Ghana extends beyond individual families. Male circumcision has been shown to reduce the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection by approximately 60%. The World Health Organization recognizes male circumcision as an effective HIV prevention strategy, particularly in regions with higher HIV prevalence.
Ensuring that circumcision is performed safely, consistently, and by well-trained providers strengthens not only newborn care but also broader public health efforts across Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa.
Building on two decades of global health work
This visit to Ghana builds on Dr. Tomlinson’s more than 20 years of work improving newborn circumcision care across Africa. As a consultant to the World Health Organization, National Institutes of Health, and Gates Foundation, he has helped develop training programs and supported providers in Nigeria, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Kenya.
“David has spent years learning from providers across diverse healthcare systems,” said Dan Reifsteck, Co-Founder of SafeCirc®. “Now he brings that experience back to strengthen systems that families already trust. Whether in Ghana or New England, the philosophy is the same: care and access must go hand in hand.”
Care and access: the foundation of the SafeCirc® model
SafeCirc®’s first Center of Excellence opened in Wakefield, Rhode Island, to provide specialized outpatient newborn male circumcision care for families across New England. The model emphasizes unhurried care, appropriate timing to support breastfeeding and maternal recovery, and the use of the safest available technology.
Collaboration with midwives, doulas, obstetricians, and pediatric providers is central to the SafeCirc® approach, ensuring continuity of care and respect for family preferences.
These same principles guide the work in Ghana. By training the midwives families already rely on and embedding safer practices into existing systems, SafeCirc® expands access without disrupting cultural norms or building parallel infrastructure.
Looking ahead: a Center of Excellence in Ghana
The training program represents foundational work toward establishing a Center of Excellence in Ghana. The center will serve as a hub for high-quality clinical care, provider training, and the demonstration of evidence-based practices.
To extend access beyond urban settings, SafeCirc® will also support mobile newborn circumcision services for families in rural and underserved communities. As part of this effort, the SafeCirc® Center in Rhode Island is donating a fully equipped Mercedes Sprinter ambulance configured specifically for mobile newborn care. The vehicle will enable trained providers to deliver safe, standardized procedures in communities where families may otherwise be unable to access care.
“When care is high-quality and access is local, outcomes improve,” said Dr. Tomlinson. “That principle guides our work in Ghana and everywhere SafeCirc® operates.”
About SafeCirc®
SafeCirc® Center of Excellence is dedicated exclusively to outpatient newborn male circumcision for infants aged 0–28 days. Founded by MIT-trained engineer and family physician Dr. David Tomlinson, SafeCirc® serves families across New England with a model centered on safety, breastfeeding support, and parent-infant bonding. The center uses the minimally invasive AccuCirc® device, developed by Dr. Tomlinson after witnessing preventable injuries from traditional circumcision methods. The device has received FDA clearance and WHO prequalification, with field trials demonstrating zero device-related injuries across more than 1,000 procedures.
Media contact:
SafeCirc® Center of Excellence
148 Main Street, Wakefield, RI 02879
Phone: (401) 417-0107
Email: info@SafeCirc.com
Website: www.SafeCirc.com
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