Health News
2006-01-18
Laura Bush says
U.S. push for abstinence overseas is “fair”
On an AIDS tour
of Africa, first lady Laura Bush on Sunday called her
husband’s administration&#x
On an AIDS tour
of Africa, first lady Laura Bush on Sunday called her
husband’s administration’s push for abstinence
programs overseas a “fair” use of
international AIDS funds. She claims money spent in
developing countries through the President’s
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is a “very fair
divide” between programs stressing safer sex,
including condom use, and those urging abstinence and
monogamy. "I'm always a little bit irritated when I
hear the criticism of abstinence, because abstinence
is absolutely 100% effective in eradicating a sexually
transmitted disease,” she said.
Bush’s
comments come on the heels of the discovery of new
guidelines from the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS
Coordinator that require two thirds of PEPFAR funds
earmarked to prevent sexual transmissions of HIV to go to
programs promoting abstinence before marriage and monogamy
after marriage. Mark Dybul, the deputy U.S. global
AIDS coordinator, says the new guidelines ensure that
global AIDS spending meets the legal requirements of
PEPFAR, which states that one third of all HIV prevention
funding be spent on abstinence programs. Because only one
quarter of AIDS spending in 2005 went to abstinence
programs, a greater percentage must be spent on
abstinence and monogamy programs in 2006 to make up for this
year’s shortfall, he says.
AIDS activists
say the new regulations will reduce funding for condom
distribution programs in poor countries and initiatives that
teach at-risk groups about safer sex. (Advocate.com)
Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter.
Page 1 of 1