Faith-Based Groups Disagree on HIV Prevention Strategies

By Jennifer Riley, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Faith-based organizations are disagreeing over what is the most effective way to prevent HIV as the $15 billion President's AIDS relief plan faces renewal this year.

Twenty-six religious organizations, including several major denominations, sent a letter Tuesday to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HCFA) calling on its members to support Chairman Howard Berman's legislation to reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

PEPFAR, the five-year and $15 billion AIDS relief plan, is the largest-ever international health initiative targeted at one disease. President Bush has urged Congress to not only renew PEPFAR, which expires September 2008, but to double the AIDS fund to $30 billion over the next five years.

The White House says the program – which targets the hardest hit countries – has treated more than 1.3 million people with AIDS. The increased funding will boost the number to 2.5 million people and expand AIDS prevention programs and care for millions more with AIDS, according to CNN.

Berman's draft legislation, which was scheduled to be reviewed by the Committee on Wednesday, is controversial among faith-based groups because it drops the requirement that 33 percent of the HIV prevention funding go to abstinence-until-marriage programs.

"Our faiths motivate us to support the best and most flexible approaches possible to preventing new infections," the signers of the letter in support of the Berman legislation wrote. "For this reason we write with deep concern about efforts to undermine the Berman bill to reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)."

The letter contends that opponents of the draft legislation characterize the bill as promoting or funding abortion when it doesn't, and that the bill does not completely eliminate programs that encourage abstinence.

"Unprotected sex is the single most important factor in the spread of HIV infections worldwide and is responsible for 80 percent of new infections in sub-Saharan Africa," the letter states. "The draft bill provides strong support for comprehensive approaches to prevention of sexual transmission.

"These include, by definition, programs resulting in measurable outcomes such as increases in abstinence, delay of sexual debut, fidelity and other behavior changes as well as increases in safer sex practices among those who are sexually active."

Signers of the letter support removal of all restrictions that "impedes flexibility" in finding a comprehensive approach to prevention, including the abstinence-until-marriage program, offering basic family planning services in HIV prevention efforts, purchase of and giving access to contraceptive supplies for women receiving PMTCT (Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV) services, and strategies focused on women, youth and highly marginalized and vulnerable populations such as men who have sex with men and sex workers.

Christian groups listed among the signers of the letter include: Presbyterian Church, (USA), Washington Office; United Methodist Church, General Board of Church & Society; Christian Church Disciples of Christ; Mennonite Central Committee, U.S. Washington Office; Division of Overseas Ministries, Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ; and Catholics for Choice.

On the other hand, other Christian groups strongly argue against removing PEPFAR's emphasis on abstinence and fidelity when they say it has been working.

"Unfortunately, the very values that have made the program effective are under attack from leaders at home," wrote Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, last week.

"When the PEPFAR comes up for reauthorization on February 28, Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) – Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee – will make every effort to strip the ABC model from the bill in favor of money for abortion providers and promoters," he condemned.

"Berman and the Democratic leadership are plotting to turn the program into something that would help eliminate Africa's next generation," Perkins accused. "Under Berman's proposal, PEPFAR could permit abortion services at taxpayer expense, as well as the removal of the Prostitution Pledge, which would give a U.S. stamp of approval on global sex trafficking and prostitution!"

Other Christian groups, such as Concerned Women for America and Focus on the Family Action, have also denounced attempts to amend PEPFAR to something they consider will "promote abortion and legalization of prostitution."

First Lady Laura Bush has publicly spoken in support of PEPFAR's abstinence programs.

"There are several ways in which we can reach young people," Bush said, while in Zambia last July during her African tour of countries receiving U.S. funds for HIV/AIDS and malaria relief programs, according to The Associated Press "One of the effective ways is abstinence ... it brings back dignity and self-responsibility to young people."

More than 33 million people worldwide have HIV, the virus which can lead to AIDS, according to the latest U.N. report. Over 2 million people have died of AIDS this year alone – including 330,000 children.

Every day, some 1,000 babies are born with HIV – 90 percent of which are babies born in Africa, according to UNAIDS. Half of all new HIV infections in the world occur in children and youth. In total, 2.5 million children under the age of 15 are infected in the world.