----- Original Message ----- From: "Gautam Mukunda" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2004 11:11 AM Subject: Re: Fascist Censorship Spreads: Vichy Style
> --- Dan Minette <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > There is one other thing that hurts, at least > > according to my daughter > > Neli. According to her, Bush's AIDs program was > > mostly propaganda. When > > the time came to fund it, the money wasn't allocated > > as promised. > > I know that a lot of Africans feel this way, but > everything I've seen suggests that it's not fair. > Given the desperate situation in Africa, being fair is > more than any human being could be, of course. The > Bush Administration has certainly put far more effort > into the problem than anyone ever did before. Second, > they've found out what _everyone_ who has ever tried > to do this has found out (including the pharma > companies who have spent huge sums of money on AIDS in > Africa, actually). There's no one there to receive > the money. The structures aren't in place. That's > what the Bush people have said, over and over again, > when people ask them why the funding hasn't reached > the levels they promised (although, again, they are > much higher than they were in the past) and as far as > I can tell this is true (i.e., it's possible that if > the structures were there the funding would be no > higher, I don't know, and neither does anyone else not > in the Administration, but at the moment, if the > funding levels were higher, it wouldn't do any good, > and they have publicly stated their intent to increase > funding as the structures come into place). > > > > > Second, while we cannot stop the spread of AIDs in > > Africa, there are > > measures to slow it down. Again, folks who have > > made at least a small dent > > in the spread are prohibited from getting funding > > because of the > > administration's supporters discomfort with the > > connection between condoms, > > birth control and agencies that favor abortions. > > I'm obviously not happy with their position on this > issue. OTOH, I don't feel the blame is all one-sided, > either. The agencies involved are, after all, the > ones asking for money. It is not unreasonable for > them to adapt to the demands of the people writing the > checks. Even if the demands don't just apply to that particular program? Yes, money is fungable, but I think a grant of X million matched with a spending increase in the desired area of the same X million would be the same as targeted funding. Telling agencies that they must change their activities everywhere to conform to the US government's specifications in order to be involved with a program on which common ground can be found is not a way to ensure cooperation. I won't argue with your assertion that there is difficulty with finding structures to spend the money wisely. I also won't argue that a number of folks on the left are squeemish about preaching ABC. They can share the blame. But, it seems to me that insisting on idealogical purity for those who can help do the work in Africa will promote the same type of sucess as insisting on idealogical purity for those who help in Iraq. That insistance is not all one sided; I'll agree with that. But, it is very unhelpful. > > When Neli gets home tonight, I'll double check on > > her sources. But, since > > Zambia now has a life expectancy in the lower 30s, > > she feels this rather > > strongly. And, I know that its not just Bush > > bashing on her part because > > she also said that she has to admit that Bush/Powell > > have done far more > > than the UN or anyone else about addressing Sudan. > > > > Dan M. > > Finally, one other thing. The country in Africa that > has probably handled the AIDS crisis the best is > Uganda. The AIDS infection rate there peaked in 1991, > and has dropped ever since. In 1991 the infection > rate was 21 percent. In 2001 it was _6_ percent. > Uganda adopted the ABC approach - basically > Abstinence, Be faithful, use a Condom. The slogan > they used, IIRC, was "Zero grazing outside your own > field." The key component to its success was using > organized religion to preach the importance of this > message. The Ugandan approach has not been used in > other parts of Africa because the international AIDS > community doesn't want to deal with religious groups, > and doesn't want to talk about the fact that > moralistic preaching on sexual behavior is the most > cost-effective way of dealing with AIDS. It has also not been used because a number of religeous communities are opposed to C. Since I'm both religeous---and agree with the AB part, and believe in the use of condoms I feel very frustrated. >The Bush > Administration has (not nearly enough, but somewhat) > gotten behind ABC and the Ugandan program when no one > else was willing to do that. > I certainly have no arguement with ABC. I know that Zambia is an officially Christian country and the preaching of morality is officially sanctioned. My understanding is that in Zambia, the official approach is AB and never C. It translates to never ABC in reality because of the duplicity in the enforcement of AB. Women are expected to follow AB, men get a wink and a nod. Unfortunately, folk beliefs also have a lot to do with spreading the disease. For example, sex with a virgin is thought to be a cure for AIDs by many. What is really needed is endorsement of ABC overall. Its what I taught in sex education at church...its what our church sanctions. Unfortunately, the C meets with overwheming opposion here. I don't see the same opposition to AB as you do. I see the arguement that data shows that AB does not really happen, so we need C. Indeed, statistics that I've seen from the US indicate that people who are in church oriented abstenance only programs are more likely to engage in high risk sexual behaviors than those who are not. Finally, I'm not excusing the folks who argue against including AB in ABC. I just don't see as many of those as I see people who argue against C. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
