| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Fredric L. Rice" |
| Date: |
31 Mar 2005 08:40:11 PM |
| Object: |
Christians Mass Slaughter Innocents in Uganda |
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/03/30/uganda10380.htm
March 30, 2005
Uganda: 'Abstinence-Only' Programs Hijack AIDS Success Story
U.S.-Sponsored HIV Strategy Threatens Youth
(London, March 30, 2005)--
U.S.-funded "abstinence-only" programs are jeopardizing Uganda’s
successful fight against HIV/AIDS, Human Rights Watch said in a new
report today.
Abstinence-only programs deny young people information about any
method of HIV prevention other than sexual abstinence until marriage.
These abstinence-only programs leave Uganda’s children at risk of HIV.
Abstinence messages should complement other HIV-prevention strategies,
not undermine them.
Jonathan Cohen, researcher with Human Rights Watch's HIV/AIDS Program
The 80-page report, "The Less They Know, the Better: Abstinence-Only
HIV/AIDS Programs in Uganda," documents the recent removal of critical
HIV/AIDS information from primary school curricula, including
information about condoms, safer sex and the risks of HIV in marriage.
Draft secondary-school materials state falsely that latex condoms have
microscopic pores that can be permeated by HIV, and that pre-marital
sex is a form of "deviance."
HIV/AIDS rallies sponsored by the U.S. government spread similar
falsehoods.
"These abstinence-only programs leave Uganda’s children at risk of
HIV," said Jonathan Cohen, a researcher with Human Rights Watch's
HIV/AIDS Program and one of the report’s authors.
"Abstinence messages should complement other HIV-prevention
strategies, not undermine them."
U.S. officials describe their strategy in Uganda as "ABC"--a popular
acronym standing for "Abstinence, Be Faithful, use Condoms."
Some experts credit the "ABC" strategy with helping to reduce HIV
prevalence in Uganda from about 15% in the early 1990s, to less than
10% today.
However, Human Rights Watch’s new report documents how condoms are
left out of the equation, especially for young people.
A draft "Abstinence and Being Faithful (AB)" policy released in
November 2004 by the Uganda AIDS Commission cautions that providing
information about condoms alongside abstinence can be "confusing" to
youth.
Teachers told Human Rights Watch that they have been instructed by
U.S. contractors not to discuss condoms in schools because the new
policy is "abstinence only."
President Museveni has publicly condemned condoms as inappropriate for
Ugandans, leading some AIDS educators to stop talking about them.
Uganda faces a nationwide condom shortage due to new government
restrictions on condom imports.
In late 2004, the Health Ministry recalled batches of imported
condoms, allegedly due to failed quality control tests.
Instead of addressing the shortage, some ministers suggested that
Ugandans adopt abstinence as a preferable HIV-prevention strategy.
"Uganda is gradually removing condoms from its HIV/AIDS strategy, and
the consequences could be fatal," said Tony Tate, a researcher with
Human Rights Watch’s Children’s Rights Division and the report’s
co-author.
"Delaying sex is surely a healthy choice for young Ugandans, but youth
have a right to know that there are other effective means of HIV
prevention."
The U.S. government has already budgeted approximately U.S. $8 million
this year on abstinence-only programs in Uganda as part of President
George W. Bush’s global AIDS plan.
The National Youth Forum, headed by Ugandan First Lady Janet Museveni,
a vocal proponent of abstinence-only, has received U.S. funding under
the plan.
The First Lady has lashed out against groups that teach young people
about condoms and called for a national "virgin census" to support her
abstinence agenda.
The Virginia-based Children’s AIDS Fund, an organization with close
ties to Janet Museveni, was recently approved for a major
abstinence-only grant, despite having been deemed "not suitable for
funding" by a technical panel of the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID).
"Abstinence-only programs are a triumph of ideology over public
health," said Cohen.
"Americans should demand that HIV-prevention programs worldwide stick
to science."
Uganda gained a reputation in the 1990s for its high-level leadership
against HIV/AIDS and acceptance of sexually candid HIV-prevention
messages.
But public health experts and Ugandan AIDS organizations fear that the
shift toward abstinence-only programs will reverse this success.
Abstinence programs have been used since 1981 in the United States,
where they have proven in numerous independent studies to be
ineffective and potentially harmful.
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http://www.ElmerFudd.US/ http://www.notserver.com/
Scientology crooks: http://sf.irk.ru/www/ot3/otiii-gif.html
Scientology murder: http://PerkinsTragedy.org
Improving the herd: http://www.rightard.org/
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