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"Incipient neo-colonialism." - The US policy on HIV prevention in Africa
sliverstain
Posts: 340
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4797537.stm
Dear oh dear, yet again the religious "right" are dictating foreign policy, and helping to kill millions. Fucking freaks.
US criticised for HIV aid effort
US policy is undermining the efforts of African countries to fight the HIV epidemic, a leading UN figure has said.
Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy on Aids, said President George Bush's $15bn Emergency Plan for HIV/Aids was too focussed on promoting abstinence.
He said Washington was practising "incipient neo-colonialism" by telling African nations how to fight Aids.
He also accused the West of failing to deliver on funding commitments they had made to fight the disease.
The G8 countries could help to break the back of this pandemic if they viewed it as an emergency like no other emergency
Stephen Lewis
Speaking at the 16th International Aids Conference in Toronto, Dr Lewis said: "No government in the Western world has the right to dictate policy to African governments around the way in which they respond to the pandemic."
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicentre of the Aids pandemic, with two-thirds of all people living with HIV coming from the region.
Two million people died of Aids in the region last year and there were 2.7m new infections.
The Bush administration backs an "ABC" plan to fight Aids: Abstinence until marriage; Being faithful to one sexual partner; and if those conditions are not practised, the use of Condoms.
In 2003, the US Government approved a $15bn package over five years to fight the spread of Aids.
Abstinence programmes
But the US Congress has stipulated that a proportion of the funds must be spent on encouraging abstinence-until-marriage programmes.
Dr Lewis said abstinence programmes had been shown not to work.
"That kind of insipient neo-colonialism is unacceptable.
"We're saying to Africa: 'This is how you will respond to the pandemic' and that's not appropriate because African governments are eminently capable of deciding what their priorities are and what the response should be."
"You do not provide money on the condition that they reflect your ideological priorities."
Top US officials have rejected the criticism, denying it promotes abstinence to the detriment of other HIV prevention strategies, or that it is designed to appease conservative Republicans.
Mark Dybul, US Global Aids coordinator, said only 7% of funding for 2005 had been spent on abstinence programmes.
He said: "There is no evidence in support of what they are saying.
"It is colonialistic to not support ABC. ABC was developed by Africans for Africans - we are supporting their strategies."
Speaking to the BBC, Dr Lewis said the West had failed to provide sufficient funds to finance effective long-term prevention and treatment programmes.
"The G8 countries could help to break the back of this pandemic if they viewed it as an emergency like no other emergency - as the worst scourge on the face of the planet since the Black Death of the 14th century.
"That sense of urgency is not yet evident."
Dear oh dear, yet again the religious "right" are dictating foreign policy, and helping to kill millions. Fucking freaks.
US criticised for HIV aid effort
US policy is undermining the efforts of African countries to fight the HIV epidemic, a leading UN figure has said.
Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy on Aids, said President George Bush's $15bn Emergency Plan for HIV/Aids was too focussed on promoting abstinence.
He said Washington was practising "incipient neo-colonialism" by telling African nations how to fight Aids.
He also accused the West of failing to deliver on funding commitments they had made to fight the disease.
The G8 countries could help to break the back of this pandemic if they viewed it as an emergency like no other emergency
Stephen Lewis
Speaking at the 16th International Aids Conference in Toronto, Dr Lewis said: "No government in the Western world has the right to dictate policy to African governments around the way in which they respond to the pandemic."
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicentre of the Aids pandemic, with two-thirds of all people living with HIV coming from the region.
Two million people died of Aids in the region last year and there were 2.7m new infections.
The Bush administration backs an "ABC" plan to fight Aids: Abstinence until marriage; Being faithful to one sexual partner; and if those conditions are not practised, the use of Condoms.
In 2003, the US Government approved a $15bn package over five years to fight the spread of Aids.
Abstinence programmes
But the US Congress has stipulated that a proportion of the funds must be spent on encouraging abstinence-until-marriage programmes.
Dr Lewis said abstinence programmes had been shown not to work.
"That kind of insipient neo-colonialism is unacceptable.
"We're saying to Africa: 'This is how you will respond to the pandemic' and that's not appropriate because African governments are eminently capable of deciding what their priorities are and what the response should be."
"You do not provide money on the condition that they reflect your ideological priorities."
Top US officials have rejected the criticism, denying it promotes abstinence to the detriment of other HIV prevention strategies, or that it is designed to appease conservative Republicans.
Mark Dybul, US Global Aids coordinator, said only 7% of funding for 2005 had been spent on abstinence programmes.
He said: "There is no evidence in support of what they are saying.
"It is colonialistic to not support ABC. ABC was developed by Africans for Africans - we are supporting their strategies."
Speaking to the BBC, Dr Lewis said the West had failed to provide sufficient funds to finance effective long-term prevention and treatment programmes.
"The G8 countries could help to break the back of this pandemic if they viewed it as an emergency like no other emergency - as the worst scourge on the face of the planet since the Black Death of the 14th century.
"That sense of urgency is not yet evident."
The world's greatest empires progress through this sequence:From bondage to spiritual faith; spiritual faith to great courage; courage to liberty;liberty to abundance;abundance to selfishness; selfishness to complacency;complacency to apathy;apathy to dependence;dependency back again into bondage
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Comments
Horrible place we all live in ....what ever happened to looking out for others because we are all human beings?
7% of 15 billion is too much?
this line was very funny. This happens everyday. if I give money to something, I want that group to reflect my ideological priorities, b/c I am giving money to them. If they have their own money they can reflect whatever priority they want. That's like me giving money to PETA then complaining they tell people not to eat meat.
If this above is true, why are people complaining?? Shouldn't countries be allowed to come up with their own strategies?
The above being said, there is a crisis in Africa and we should help out the best we can.
Just like the Catholic Church's refusal to promote safe sex over the last 20 years is NOT RESPONSIBLE for the spread of AIDS then?
It's al down to education. In Europe and the US, we shag around, screw and fuck just as much as the africans do, so why is there no such epidemic here?
Education. Any other reasons?
I'm no fan of the Catholic Church, but they are hardly responsible for the ignorance of the masses. Its not as if they owe a duty of care to anybody. They are simply a religious institution, promoting their own agenda.
And yes, your right about the need for education (and rubbers, lots of rubbers), but that doesn't make the Catholic Church (annoying as it may be) any more responsible for the spread of the disease.
Helping a country and attacking a country are two very different things....
Catholic churches forbid the use of non-natural contraception (abstinence being the only mean they accept). Catholic church colonialisation and education of African communities led to such disasters as the Rwanda genocide, and the spread of AIDS disease. Yes, they are somehow, responsible.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley
it's no bullshit, people don't have to follow catholic word, but they do, what's your point? Catholic colonialist in Africa are a plea to this continent, once education will come from somewhere else than the catholic world, Africans (generalisation i know) will just turn their back on them, just like everywhere else in the world. Catholic churches is responsible, i could say indirectly, but they are.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
So they were to remain abstinent?
So you blame the people for the lack of education? That is b/s.....
Education is just a part of the problem, but yes many of them have never seen a condom in their life.
About AIDS itself, more cheap and accessible medication would help, but company don'T want that, they want more shareholders profits, criminal fuckers...
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
so the catholic church is responsible for the african AIDS crisis now? We can pass blame to anyone it seems. I heard the eskimos haven't helped much, if they would have this wouldn't be a problem.
No, but it isn't the Catholic Church's responsibility to provide the afforementioned education, particularly where it is inconsistent with their own (the Church) views. Abstanence is a shitty solution, but its a solution.
And honestly, if a person doesn't agree with abstaining from sex, why are they even listening to the Church in the first place? The real problem is that no other organization is truly stepping up to the plate, offering a better alternative. People can blame Catholicism for this if they choose, but as I stated earlier, the Chruch doesn't owe anybody a special duty of care.
I could blame you directly for not taking your good education over there and educating them yourself. If you didn't and don't like what the Catholic Church is teaching them why don't you get off the sidelines and go do it yourself.
Blaming others for taking a course of action consistant with their beliefs and when they've made the course of action very public is childish. You or anyone else were not prevented in any way by the Catholic Church from taking action. Find a mirror, take a look in it, place all blame on who you see.
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley