Bishop Mvume Dandala, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, said the Bush administration’s funding guidelines, for HIV/AIDS relief should allow more room for the distribution of condoms.
U.S. guidelines that put a focus on abstinence programs are good for the long term but do not address the AIDS crisis in the short term, Dandala told reporters during a fall summit of international ecumenical bodies. “The U.S. approach will not work long term if Africans are already dead from AIDS because they have no access to condoms to help stop the spread of the disease.” Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the New York-based National Council of Churches, said U.S. policy should be less tied to conservative concerns that the availability of condoms might promote promiscuity. (RNS)
