Africa Action joins day of solidarity with Ugandan AIDS activists

Contact: Ann-Louise Colgan (202) 546-7961

Africa Action Joins Day of Solidarity with Ugandan AIDS Activists

Urges Ugandan Government to Release Condoms, Promote Comprehensive
Prevention;
Condemns U.S. Emphasis on Abstinence-Only Funding for HIV/AIDS Programs
in Africa

Aug 30, 2005 (Washington) — Africa Action today joined
in solidarity with a coalition of AIDS activists in Uganda and their
allies in the U.S. to demand that the Ugandan government end the condom
crisis in that country and return to comprehensive HIV prevention
policies. Today’s actions also focus on the role of the Bush
Administration in undermining African efforts to combat HIV/AIDS by
promoting abstinence-only programs at the expense of scientifically
sound and effective prevention strategies that could save millions of lives.

Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action, notes, “Uganda, which
was once a model in the fight against HIV/AIDS, has fallen prey to
ideologically-motivated HIV/AIDS policies pushed by Washington, which
threaten to erode all previous gains in HIV prevention efforts. The
government’s shift to a greater focus on abstinence-only strategies and
away from a comprehensive and evidence-based national prevention program
is largely financed by the U.S., which continues to undermine effective
HIV prevention efforts in Africa.”

Booker added, “The present problem in Uganda is further exacerbated by
an artificial condom shortage, where the government continues to hold
tens of millions of quality-assured condoms in warehouses. The
government, with U.S. support, is in effect preventing Ugandans from
protecting themselves against HIV/AIDS.”

Africa Action notes that the Bush Administration is the primary donor of
HIV/AIDS programs in Uganda. The harmful promotion of anti-condom
efforts and unproven abstinence-only prevention programs, which receive
significant U.S. funding in Uganda, is also being reported in Nigeria,
Zambia and other African countries.

Ann-Louise Colgan, Director of Policy Analysis & Communications at
Africa Action said, “In Africa – ground-zero of the global HIV/AIDS
pandemic – where more than 3 million people become infected with HIV in
2004, comprehensive sex education and science-based prevention programs
are essential to reducing the number of new HIV infections on the
continent. Yet instead of investing in these important strategies to
save lives, U.S. funding in Uganda and elsewhere is withholding from
those at greatest risk the essential information and tools they need to
protect themselves from HIV/AIDS.”

Marie Clarke Brill, Director of Public Education & Mobilization at
Africa Action, said, “In Uganda and across Africa, the Bush
Administration is undermining efforts to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS by
focusing on abstinence-only strategies that leave millions of young
people and women at risk. Today Africa Action is mobilizing thousands of
activists across the U.S. to call for an end to harmful policies that
place ideology above science and public health.”

Today’s Day of Solidarity with Ugandan activists will be marked by
peaceful demonstrations at Ugandan consulates and embassies around the
world, including in New York City.