God and the Fight Against AIDS

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While Catholic and Protestant churches have long been on the front lines in the battle against AIDS, conservative Evangelicals -- many of whom believe the disease is divine punishment for homosexuality and promiscuity -- have traditionally stayed on the sidelines.

Since President Bush was elected -- on promises to provide more funds to faith-based groups -- many conservative Christians have begun to 'change their tune,' writes Helen Epstein in The New York Review of Books. It helps that of the $15 billion Bush has allocated to fight AIDS globally, much will be directed to church-affiliated organizations, with $1 billion earmarked for abstinence-until-marriage programs.

As a result, blind faith in abstinence has taken hold in Uganda, a country that was once the shining star of AIDS success stories in Africa. HIV rates fell in Uganda during the 1990s from about 15 percent to some 6 percent. The key was a multifaceted set of programs known as the ABC approach, which preached the benefits of Abstinence, Being faithful, and using Condoms.

But Uganda is now 'in the throes of a born-again Christian revival,' Epstein writes. The government has embraced the abstinence tack and groups are scrambling to secure a piece of the $1 billion pie.

That's meant pushing aside condom programs, a trend worrisome to those who believe prophylactics were a pivotal part of Uganda's success, and an abandonment of the 'Be Faithful' approach, which is rooted in Uganda's homegrown 'Zero Grazing' campaign.

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