8-31-05, 9:45 am
Appealing to his right-wing Christian fundamentalist supporters, President Bush continues to use federal resources to block effective birth control and undermine global strategies to fight AIDS.
According to recent media reports, HIV/AIDS experts say that US cuts in funding for condoms and an emphasis on promoting abstinence has contributed to a shortage of condoms in Uganda.
In fact, the Bush administration, which is the main donor to Uganda's AIDS program, has collaborated closely with the right-wing Ugandan administration to displace condom distribution programs with unproven and dangerous 'abstinence-only' programs.
'There is no doubt in my mind that the condom crisis in Uganda is being driven by [US policies],' said the UN secretary general's special envoy for HIV/Aids in Africa, Stephen Lewis. 'To impose a dogma-driven policy that is fundamentally flawed is doing damage to Africa.'
Abstinence-only programs are education programs that teach that the only way to fight the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is by abstaining from sex altogether. These programs also often teach their students, contrary to many scientifically sound claims, that condom use is ineffective in stopping STDs.
Unfortunately, abstinence-only programs, according to experts, fail more than they succeed. And since they tend to be anti-condom, those students that do not successfully abstain from sexual activity tend to do so without protection. This problem, several academic studies have shown, may increase the risk of exposure to STDs and unwanted pregnancies.
In particular, Africa Action, a US-based African affairs organization, called on the Ugandan government to restore 'comprehensive HIV prevention policies' that include condom distribution.
Africa Action's executive director, Salih Booker accused the Ugandan government of bowing to the Bush administration's ideologically motivated financial aid policy by creating 'an artificial condom shortage, where the government continues to hold tens of millions of quality-assured condoms in warehouses.'
Uganda 'has fallen prey to ideologically-motivated HIV/AIDS policies pushed by Washington,' Booker stated.
Bush’s anti-condom policies 'threaten to erode all previous gains in HIV prevention efforts. The government’s shift to a greater focus on abstinence-only strategies and away from a comprehensive and evidence-based national prevention program is largely financed by the U.S., which continues to undermine effective HIV prevention efforts in Africa.'
Uganda, which once had a well-organized condom distribution program that was considered the basis of one of the most successful anti-AIDS programs in Africa, since the growth of Bush administration influence on its policies, has recently seen alarming growth in its HIV infection rate.
Other critics of Bush’s AIDS and birth control policies in the US have argued that Bush has rejected science in favor of ideologically-motivated policies.
The National Organization for Women (NOW) held several protests and other actions across the country this week to protest administration policies related to birth control that it says are undermining women’s health.
NOW held a national day of action on August 30 to protest the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) repeated refusal to approve emergency contraception for over-the-counter use. NOW is demanding that Bush-appointed FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford stop denying women non-prescription access to Plan B, also known as the morning after pill.
In an August 26th announcement, Crawford delayed a decision on whether the FDA would allow the morning-after pill to be sold over the counter. He also made clear that young women under the age of 17 will be excluded from any decision that allows Plan B to be sold over-the-counter.
This announcement comes despite the fact that emergency contraception such as the 'morning after pill' has been proven safe and effective in helping women prevent unplanned pregnancies, and unrestricted access will ultimately reduce the need for abortion.
'This is just another in a long line of decisions that make women's health secondary to right-wing politics,' said NOW President Kim Gandy. 'This administration is determined to turn the FDA into an arm of the Republican Party – carrying out the fondest desires of Bush allies who oppose women's use of contraception.'
--Reach Joel Wendland at jwendland@politicalaffairs.net.
