Ben is from the Bagisu tribe in Eastern Uganda, where HIV rates are well below the regional average. After three days of ritual dancing, he will be circumcised in a coming of age ceremony. At the moment, the cultural prestige is foremost in Ben's mind. "Yes, I am proud," he says. "People tend to respect you." But clinical trials have recently confirmed that this traditional ceremony is also a key factor in keeping the HIV rate so low. Ben's cousin Dr Mulongo Muhamed warns that circumcision is no magic solution: "We want it to go together with abstinence, with faithfulness, with condom use. We want to take it as a package." Together with other cultural surgeons, he is helping to modernise the ceremony, showing others how to sterilise surgical knives. An uplifting report, which takes a positive look at the mixing of modern medicine and age-old practices in Uganda's fight against its number one killer.

Produced by Melissa McClean