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April 4, 2006 |
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U.S. Abstinence-Only Requirement Hinders International HIV Prevention Efforts, Says GAO
Advocates for Youth Fears PEPFAR Becoming “Anti-Condom Campaign”
WASHINGTON, DC (April 4, 2006) Today, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued its report to congressional committees detailing the shortcomings of the abstinence-only-until-marriage earmark in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
The report, Spending Requirement Presents Challenges for Allocating Prevention Funding Under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, found that the abstinence-only-until-marriage earmark – which requires at least 33 percent of prevention funds to be used only for abstinence messages – “undermine[s] the integration of prevention programs by forcing [countries] to isolate funding” for only the ‘Abstinence’ and ‘Be Faithful’ components of the ABC prevention plan.
"This report provides more proof that this Administration’s ideology thwarts proven public health science,” said James Wagoner, President of Advocates for Youth. “The abstinence-only earmark acts like a political straightjacket, hindering on the ground efforts to effectively prevent HIV and AIDS.”
In addition, the report found that the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator was applying the earmark to all PEPFAR prevention funds, beyond what was required by law, placing further constraints on limited funds.
This issue was addressed in a recent Baltimore Sun story that disclosed the U.S.’s efforts to shift even more dollars into abstinence-only programs while cutting back on support for condoms. Duff Gillespie, who headed AIDS programs at USAID until 2002, was quoted saying this policy is “outrageous and stupid… [and] from a public health policy point of view it’s irresponsible.”
"Given the restrictions evidenced in this report, one has to ask the question: Is the President’s international HIV/AIDS program becoming an anti-condom campaign?” asked Wagoner. “How are these countries to conduct an ‘ABC’ campaign when we only fund the ‘A’ and the ‘B’?”
The GAO report is hardly the first time the Administration’s earmark has come into question. Recently, the Society for Adolescent Medicine (SAM), in one of the most exhaustive reviews to date of government-funded abstinence-only programs, rejected current Administration policy that promotes abstinence as the only sexual health prevention strategy for young people. On the topic of PEPFAR, SAM’s report stated “Human rights groups find that U.S. government policy has become a source for misinformation and censorship in these countries. U.S. emphasis on abstinence may also have reduced condom availability and access to accurate information on HIV/AIDS in some countries.”
"Sadly, this report suggests the U.S. is impeding, not leading, efforts to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS,” concluded Wagoner. “The Administration’s political blind spots will continue to weaken global HIV prevention efforts until the money can be directed to programs that work – comprehensive programs that promote abstinence, monogamy, and condom use for the prevention of this deadly disease.”
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Advocates for Youth is a national, nonprofit organization that creates programs and supports policies that help young people make safe, responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.
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