Who Foots the Huge Free Condom Bill?

Condoms galore were distributed in Rio de Janeiro before and during an annual carnival last month. When religious authorities protested, President Lula da Silva accused them of hypocrisy. Lula has done some good things and championed the poor of Brazil, but in this he was way off the mark. Shortly before that, two US bishops criticised the New York authorities for giving out condoms free of charge on February 14.

Once, the day was known as St Valentine’s Day and then just Valentine’s Day. Now, it is simply an annual excuse for all kinds of pagan indulgence. In Washington DC, the health authorities distributed 250,000 condoms in the weeks running up to the February 14.

In Scotland, the Edinburgh Evening News mentioned that condoms were being distributed to children as young as 13, and in 2005, 53,638 condoms were given to children between ages 13 and 15. Anyone with minimum business sense is likely to ask: Who can afford to give all this free of charge? Who is footing the bill? What is their agenda?

A recent report in the Washington Post, on HIV/Aids prevalence in southern Africa, and Botswana in particular, concludes that sexual relations with multiple partners is ‘the most powerful force propelling a killer disease through a vulnerable continent’.

This area has 38 per cent of the total HIV infections in the world. Yet, the population is not even a tiny fraction of the world total. How has this come about? Botswana has for many years followed a policy recommended by international experts to promote condoms and distribute anti-retroviral drugs.

Condom use increased HIV infection

And what has been the outcome? The contagion rate is among the fastest in the world, with 25 per cent of the population infected. Abstinence and fidelity campaigns were never seriously promoted, whereas condom campaigns and condoms were. A $13.5 million (Sh945 million) campaign for condom promotion was launched in the country, thanks to the financial support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Merck pharmaceutical company.

For many people, the founder of Microsoft is a real hero, for his skill in making money. Now we know how he spends some of it! The amount spent on promoting condoms was 25 times more than that spent on abstinence programmes. And the not-so-unpredictable conclusion is this: Soaring rates of condom use have not brought HIV infection down. Instead, it rose to the highest in Africa.”

A study carried out among Zimbabwe’s rural population, between 1998 and 2003, Understanding HIV Epidemic Trends in Africa, found that the reduction of HIV prevalence was achieved due to changes in sexual behaviour. This included delaying the onset of sexual activity and the reduction in the number of sexual partners.

An article in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Adolescent Sexual Debut and Later Delinquency, shows that premature initiation of sexual activity increases the risk of delinquency. Delaying sexual activity ‘offers a protective effect and reduces the risk of engaging in subsequent delinquency’.

Those who carried out the surveys were honest enough to say things as they are. But our parents and grandparents knew these things all along.

Source : http://allafrica.com