Current issue: Vol.1, No. 3 July 2001

Go to Content page Feedback Of French Letters In Africa By Kyalo Japheth With the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Africa, the condom (also known as a French letter) is being touted by both local and international campaigns as a sure guard against infection. Enormous budgets are involved. A change in sexual behaviour is advocated by the Church but frowned upon by many African governments. As the AIDS pandemic sweeps across a continent in which 25 million people are HIV-positive, African governments and the international community are scrambling to find ways to stem the tide. So far, they have come up with the most obvious - the use of the condom - much to the chagrin of the Catholic Church. Hefty budgets There are some pretty big budgets involved in this move to saturate the continent with condoms. In July 2001, the Bank approved a US $24.56 million loan for Chad to top up an earlier loan that financed programmes supporting condom distribution and promoting the national population policy. In the same month, the International Development Association (IDA), an arm of the World Bank, approved a US $90.3 million loan for the Nigerian government's three-year HIV/AIDS Emergency Action Plan. Nigeria has an estimated three million people infected and 1.7 million people reportedly killed by the disease. Burkina Faso also received US $22 million under the World Bank's US $500 million multi-country HIV/AIDS programme for the continent. In April 2001, Germany donated the equivalent of about US $2.2 million to Burkina Faso to allow it to sell condoms more cheaply. Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire are among the countries that are the most affected by AIDS in West Africa. In Uganda, where 1.4 million people are HIV positive and 150,000 have full-blown AIDS, the World Bank agreed in July of this year to spend about US $47.5 million to buy condoms and medicines - excluding anti-retrovirals - and build clinics over the next five years under the country's HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programmes. In July, Kenya - where 2.2 million are HIV-positive, 250,000 people are living with AIDS, and 700 people each day dies of AIDS - announced plans to import 300 million condoms to combat AIDS. This translates to an average of 60 condoms for every sexually active Kenyan male. Although the cost of the consignment was not disclosed, it is estimated to be about US $13 million. Apparently, the government had planned everything to detail, because during the year's budget speech earlier in June, Finance Minister Chris Okemo had waved all duty on condoms. The international community, most African governments, and public opinion have been increasingly advocating condom use as the way to cope with the spread of HIV/AIDS, leaving the church as one of the only opponents of such a strategy. For instance, on September 23rd 2001, former Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings started his tour of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania as a goodwill ambassador of the UN to discuss measures to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. In Nairobi, he called on churches and governments to work for a middle ground in the combat against the spread of AIDS. He however, passed across a different message when he displayed a condom from his inner pocket. And, when Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi called on Kenyans to abstain from sex for two years to save a generation, he was scorned and laughed at by the media and public alike. Church condemnation The Church has been very vocal in its condemnation of the various African countries' condom campaigns. A statement from the Catholic Bishops of Kenya said that the Kenya government's move to import condoms, "is based on the false premise that our people are incapable of self-control even when faced with death, and cannot therefore change their sexual behaviour." The move, they said, "implies that the government accepts promiscuity." The (Muslim) Council of Imams saw the country as "committing suicide" by buying condoms. Condoms, they said, could encourage the youth to experiment with sex, and maintain the prevalence of AIDS at high levels. The March 25th 2001pastoral letter issued by the Malawi Catholic Bishops had this to say: "The avoidance and prevention of HIV/Aids raises serious practical and moral questions and people are looking up to the Church for guidance. The present campaign by most non-religious groups promotes condoms as though they were completely effective. It gives a false sense of security and it spreads the idea that promiscuity is normal. It does not give full information especially with regard to the ineffectiveness of the condom…How can we best prevent the spreading of the disease? It is our conviction that the victory over HIV/AIDS will only be the fruit of change through a responsible choice of behaviour, respectful of all human and spiritual values. The Church's message has been constant and is confirmed by research and non-religious sources." Concludes the Malawi Catholic Bishops letter: "All authors who are concerned with prevention of HIV infection are agreed on one point: only a radical change in sexual behaviour can produce the real and total protection that cannot be expected from condoms alone. The only strategy which is really and totally efficient against HIV is abstinence or fidelity in sexual relations within a monogamous marriage, according to the formula of the Centre for Disease Control of Atlanta (USA): Abstinence or sexual intercourse with one mutually faithful uninfected partner are the only totally effective prevention strategies." The Southern African Catholic Bishop's Conference issued a statement on July 30th, 2001 opposing the use of condoms in fighting HIV/AIDS. They noted "…the widespread and indiscriminate promotion of condoms as an immoral and misguided weapon in our battle against HIV-AIDS," and that condoms might help its spread. In Gabon, the Church's commitment in the fight against AIDS has been recognized by the president, Omar Bongo, who urged the Bishops there to use their influence to help Africa realise that the battle can be won. Of the sexually active Gabonese, six percent are said to be HIV positive. As well, the Vatican had been very closely watching the June gathering of UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) in New York, where the United States had announced that it would contribute US $200 million to fight the war against AIDS. According to the Vatican, UNGASS failed to give adequate emphasis on the possibility of people protecting themselves from the irresponsible acts of others. The Vatican reiterated its stand that the surest method to prevent the sexual transmission of the HIV virus is abstinence before marriage, and respect and fidelity during marriage. (Not all Church officials, however, have been unanimous in condemning condoms as a way to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. Bishop Kevin Dowling of South Africa was reported by the UN Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) as advocating the use of condoms to fight the epidemic. Later that month the Southern African Catholic Bishop's Conference (SACBC) issued a statement condemning prophylactics. In France, Church leaders have also been reported to vouch for condoms. One Catholic priest insists that "every Christian is a little moral theologian", and he or she, including the commercial sex worker, can choose what do in their own circumstances). Pro-active stance In some areas, the Church has been very proactive in its efforts to bring about the behavioural changes needed to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS. In Zambia, the Churches Medical Association of Zambia (CMAZ) trains personnel whom carry out HIV tests, and offers pre- and post-test counselling. About 100 people die daily in Zambia due to HIV/AIDS. Earlier this year, the Church in Kenya launched a manual for trainers and facilitators. For years, the Church has been holding behaviour-change workshops for youth, students, parents, army personnel, municipal council workers, and teachers, all this without any State funding. In contrast, there is little commitment by most governments and groups to campaign for sexual abstinence. "To battle the epidemic, public administrators and some NGOs tend to whisper the word, 'abstinence' but to shout the word 'CONDOMS!' says Fr. Anthony Zimmerman, a retired professor of Moral Theology at Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan. Many project proposals and financial reports to donor agencies can hardly be complete until they have included statistics - it is not easy to quantify abstinence. And, a concern among activists is that Western governments would be far happier to spend on cheaper preventive programmes - condoms and AIDS education - rather than the provision of treatment for the 36 million people infected with HIV worldwide. Kyalo Japheth is an editor with the Catholic Information Service for Africa (CISA), based in Nairobi, Kenya. African Scribe is guest on PeaceLink web site