European Union attacks US `war on condoms`
The European Union has issued a strongly worded attack on US approaches to HIV prevention in developing countries. In particular it targets US reluctance to supply condoms to young people who, American policy makers believe, should be encouraged to abstain from sex before marriage. “HIV prevention requires that governments and communities have the courage to confront difficult issues in an open and informed way. We understand that in many settings there is a cultural resistance to openly discussing sex, sexuality and drug use. We are profoundly concerned about the resurgence of partial or incomplete messages on HIV prevention which are not grounded in evidence and have limited effectiveness.”
“We, the European Union, firmly believe that, to be successful, HIV prevention must utilise all approaches known to be effective, not implementing one or a few selective actions in isolation.” The US has also insisted that two-thirds of the money earmarked for prevention in the PEPFAR programme should be spent on programmes that promote abstinence from sexual activity.
The statement was coordinated by the United Kingdom government as part of its presidency of the European Union, and was endorsed yesterday by UNAIDS, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Population Fund.
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