Here’s another interactivity post:

PBS television, on the Jim Lehrer New Hour, recently aired (6/28/06) an update on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Uganda. The program highlighted Uganda as one example of the recent increase in United States funding for AIDS across Sub-Saharan Africa. Those who have followed the global plight of AIDS recall that while other African nations were in denial during the 1980′s Uganda tackled the disease head on with an agressive and comprehensive information and treatment campaign. The basic message is follow the ABC’s, namely:

1. Abstinence
2. Be Faithful
3. Condom

The program has been lauded as the most successful in Africa and served as a model for other nations. The United States has increased its funding for this program, while appealing to the Ugandan government for more emphais to be placed on Abstinence and less on Condom use. Many faith-based groups in Uganda have changed the “C” from condom to CHANGE COMPANY. The program stated that the U.S. is stipulating 1/3 of the finances to be used for abstinence education. Critics say this may be detracting funds from purchasing more anti-viral drugs for those currently infected. To date, there are over 1 million who have contracted the disease and only 30,000 have access to the approprate drug treatments.

Questions:
From a Christian ethical perspective, knowing that some are suffering and dying, is it right to focus funding on abstinence over medical treatment? As evangelicals can we expect abstinence to take root within an uncoverted heart? Should abstinence education over condom distribution be the appropriate plan when dealing with the health of a nation? Some marriages have one spouse who is infected and the other healthy, should abstinence be the message or condom use or another alternative?

This is a phenomenal question and is extremely relevant to the greatest epidemic of our age. First I will say, regardless of the situation, for Christians to expect abstinence to be a ligitimate “approach” toward sex education among non-christians is just out-right foolishness. I don’t say that because I think we should be fornicators, but I think that it is not our place to impose the Law of God upon people and expect that they will be able to fullfil it apart from a regenerative work of the Spirit of God. At best it’s legalism, at worst it does not help the problem. We are having a hard time enough having Christians remain abstinent before marriage. Of course, the problem in Africa with AIDS is that even people who are married and faithful (mostly wives) as well as celibate and abstinent (children) are the greatest victims. AIDS and HIV have worked there way into the family structure in African countries and the most effective strategies to fight against the spread of these diseases are education, medical research, and condom distribution. Even if there wasn’t a single case spread after this year, we would still have to deal with the millions who are ineffected right now, which would lead me to believe that the priority needs to be not on education about abstinence, but medical research and the distribution of common medicines that most people have no access to in Uganda or the rest of Africa.

Maybe I’m just dense, but I’m still trying to figure how much money you need in order to tell people not to have sex. If people are aware of what kind of problem there is with AIDS and how it is contracted, then it seems to me that people would want to take the necessary precautions in order to prevent it. Thus, general education about AIDS/HIV should be the best preventative measure. The information available at DATA’s website (http://www.data.org/) and the One Campaign (http://www.one.org/) offer the best info I have seen on this subject.