Some conservative
religious groups, though claiming to be supportive of
HIV prevention and treatment programs in developing
countries, are taking aim at the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria due to opposition
to the organization's support of condom programs, the
Chicago Tribune reports. The U.S. Senate in
March passed a nonbinding resolution calling for U.S. grants
to the Global Fund to increase to $866 million in
2007, up from $445 million in 2006. But the move
infuriated many right-wing religious organizations,
which say that abstinence and monogamy--not safer-sex
initiatives--should be the only tools the U.S.
should advocate in fighting the global spread of HIV.
James Dobson,
founder of the antigay group Focus on the Family, was
particularly critical of the Senate resolution, saying the
Global Fund promotes "legalized prostitution
and all kinds of wickedness around the world," reports
the Tribune. Dobson and the leaders of 29
other conservative religious groups, hoping to prevent
the House from following the Senate's lead, have
written to House leaders urging them to not increase
funding for the Global Fund when they consider foreign
spending bills later this year. Their letter claims the
Global Fund pushes condom distribution programs "to
the near exclusion of abstinence and
faithfulness."
But not all
religious leaders are supportive of Dobson's attacks
on the Global Fund. Tony Campolo, a Christian
activist, and televangelist Pat Robertson both support
the Global Fund's work. If Congress bows to the
pressure of Dobson and other religious groups and fails to
extend adequate aid overseas, "we will look on
this as a very mistaken time," Campolo says.
Global Fund
leaders also say that the organization provides financial
support for nearly 75 faith-based organizations, including
the Salvation Army, Youth for Christ, and World
Vision. (The Advocate)