Voice of America - November 27, 2006
Rosanne Skirble
Washington

Click to download/open (MP3)
Click to download/open (Real Audio)

Stronger promotion of condom use could help put the brakes on the global HIV-AIDS epidemic according to a new study published in the British medical journal, The Lancet.

The study suggests condom use could be especially helpful in sub-Saharan Africa, a region that accounted for 65 percent of the 4.3 million new HIV infections reported this year by the World Health Organization.

The Lancet study surveyed the sexual behavior of 130,000 young single women from 18 African countries between 1993 and 2001. Abstinence and fidelity rates among this population aged 15-24 remained relatively unchanged, while the percentage of respondents who said their male partners used condoms more than tripled from 5.3 to 18.8 percent. In 13 of the 18 countries in the survey, 60 percent of the women said they were using condoms for pregnancy prevention.

Lead author John Cleland, professor of medical demography with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says the numbers are encouraging, especially for this group of sexually active women who are also at risk for contracting HIV. "What it tells you is that condom promotion campaigns in all their various forms are working," he says.

Family Planning Strategy Could Work to Lower AIDS Risk

The Bush administration's response to the worldwide AIDS epidemic, known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, funds global HIV prevention programs. PEPFAR promotes a three-pronged approach to prevention of the sexually- transmitted disease that it calls "ABC," where A stands for abstinence, B for be faithful and C for condoms. PEPFAR administrator Mark Dybul says, "The data are clear that you need all three components" to effectively fight the AIDS epidemic.

But some critics fault the ABC approach for emphasizing abstinence over condom use. Lancet study author John Cleland says the U.S. policy amounts to an embargo on the social marketing and promotion of condoms. "Other donors have to step in and fill that gap, because the unsung hero of the game are the people who make condoms familiar, available and affordable."

But U.S. Global AIDS coordinator Mark Dybul says that the United States supports condom distribution. "This year," he says, "the U.S. planned to ship more than 486 million condoms worldwide." That is triple the number shipped in 2001.

Study author John Cleland says the finding that condoms are becoming a more popular method of contraception in Sub-Saharan Africa is welcome news because of their value in protecting against both unwanted pregnancy and HIV. He says this is of immediate importance to women in the region, who make up 60 percent of HIV-infected people.

"The big message is that pregnancy prevention and HIV control should get together more closely. It might well be more effective to provide condoms for pregnancy prevention than for disease control."

That's because, Cleland says, "It is easier for a young woman to persuade her sexual partner to use a condom to prevent pregnancy than to prevent disease."

Cleland hopes the survey will be a wake-up call for public health policy makers.

061127
VA061117

Copyright © 2006 - Voice of America. You are welcome to use any material that is published by voanews.com, or you may link to any of the web pages that Voice of America has published on the internet. There is no need to request further permission. Should you wish to establish a link to any VOA web pages, please send your request to pubaff@ibb.gov. We would appreciate that credit for any use of VOA material be given to voanews.com, Voice of America, or VOA, and we ask that you not abridge or edit any VOA material which you may use.

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Bridgestone Firestone Trust Fund, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2006. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2006. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .