The following are excerpts from articles related to the dramatic decline of AIDS in Uganda because of emphasis put on sexual abstinence. Uganda’s success story brings hope to S. Africa as we bring the same message and encouragement to them.
“Uganda is one of the countries that attach great importance on promoting abstinence among our youth,” said Ahmed Ssenyomo, minister counselor at the Ugandan Embassy, in a speech to the African American Youth Conference on Abstinence.
When the program started in the late 1980s, the number of pregnant women infected with HIV was 21.2 percent. By 2001, the number was 6.2 percent. The Harvard study also reported Ugandan adults are not having as much risky sex: of women 15 and older, those reporting many sexual partners dropped from 18.4 percent in 1989 to 2.5 percent in 2000.
The emphasis on abstinence in Uganda’s program is unique. In other nations with high HIV infections, such as Zimbabwe and Botswana, condoms have been promoted as the answer to ending the AIDS crisis. In Botswana, 38 percent of pregnant women were HIV positive last year, contrasted with 6.2 percent of Ugandan women.
Sarah Trafford. “Uganda Winning the Battle Against AIDS—Using Abstinence.” Culture and Family Institute (July, 2002).
“They avoided AIDS in the best way they could, by reducing casual sex,” Low-Beer said. The decline in casual sex, he contends, led to lower HIV rates. “This turned out to be an African success equivalent to a highly effective vaccine.”
By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
