Abstinence or death

August 30th, 2005 at 08:01 Björn Hallberg

Bush accused of Aids damage to Africa

A senior United Nations official has accused President George Bush of “doing damage to Africa” by cutting funding for condoms, a move which may jeopardise the successful fight against HIV/Aids in Uganda.

Stephen Lewis, the UN secretary general’s special envoy for HIV/Aids in Africa, said US cuts in funding for condoms and an emphasis on promoting abstinence had contributed to a shortage of condoms in Uganda, one of the few African countries which has succeeded in reducing its infection rate.

In 2003, President Bush declared he would spend $15bn on his Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, but receiving aid under the programme has moral strings attached.

Recipient countries have to emphasise abstinence over condoms, and - under a congressional amendment - they must condemn prostitution.

Now, I say it’s time for the rest of the world to step in and wrestle back control of the UN, even if that will be a costly initiative. But it’s better than sitting by and watching fundamentalists essentially kill people in cold blood unless they adapt America’s way of thinking and religion. Where have I heard this before? Hmmm. Why is no one calling for condemnation of this type of terrorism?

Entry 228 filed under: Africa. This entry was posted 3 years, 3 months ago. RSS feed for comments on this post.