Monday, April 14, 2008
AIDS and the Churches
This article in First Things this month is very important reading. The authors are part of the AIDS Prevention Research Center at Harvard. Their point seems to be that:
1. In every country in Africa with a decrease in HIV, there has been a decreased number of sex partners reported.
2. The other behavior associated with decreased HIV is decreased premarital sex.
3. The conventional wisdom is that "Poverty and discrimination are the problem", "Condoms are the answer", or "Sexual behavior will not change."
Here is a telling line: "One must ask whether they are more concerned with upholding a Western notion of sexual freedom or with saving lives."
Some other soundbites: In Africa, the wealthy are more likely to be infected than the poor.
In 30-40% of infected couples in Africa, the woman alone was infected (it's not just the men...)
Sexual behavior in Rwanda has remained conservative, and, at 3%, HIV prevalence is low for the region.
In fact, the mainstream HIV/AIDS community has continued to champion condom use as critical in all types of HIV epidemics, in spite of the evidence. "There are no definite examples yet of generalized epidemics that have been turned back by prevention programs based primarily on condom promotion."
"We must accept that the evidence is much stronger for fidelity or partner reduction than for any of the standard package HIV prevention packages."
(They also mention churches in the article by the way.)
Worth the read for all of us in medicine.
1. In every country in Africa with a decrease in HIV, there has been a decreased number of sex partners reported.
2. The other behavior associated with decreased HIV is decreased premarital sex.
3. The conventional wisdom is that "Poverty and discrimination are the problem", "Condoms are the answer", or "Sexual behavior will not change."
Here is a telling line: "One must ask whether they are more concerned with upholding a Western notion of sexual freedom or with saving lives."
Some other soundbites: In Africa, the wealthy are more likely to be infected than the poor.
In 30-40% of infected couples in Africa, the woman alone was infected (it's not just the men...)
Sexual behavior in Rwanda has remained conservative, and, at 3%, HIV prevalence is low for the region.
In fact, the mainstream HIV/AIDS community has continued to champion condom use as critical in all types of HIV epidemics, in spite of the evidence. "There are no definite examples yet of generalized epidemics that have been turned back by prevention programs based primarily on condom promotion."
"We must accept that the evidence is much stronger for fidelity or partner reduction than for any of the standard package HIV prevention packages."
(They also mention churches in the article by the way.)
Worth the read for all of us in medicine.
