Rep. Henry Hyde wants global AIDS funds shifted to abstinence programs

Republican U.S. representative Henry Hyde of Illinois on Wednesday urged the Bush administration to reduce spending on global AIDS programs that promote condom use and boost spending on groups that specialize in abstinence education, VOA News reports. The five-year, $15 billion President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief already requires that one third of the U.S. global AIDS funds be spent on abstinence efforts. But Hyde, speaking during a House International Relations Committee hearing on PEPFAR, said groups best suited to promote abstinence and monogamy programs are not getting enough PEPFAR funding and that too much federal money is being devoted to organizations that have historically promoted condom use. He said faith-based groups and indigenous organizations would make better use of PEPFAR funds.