US President George W. Bush said for the first time on Wednesday that the US should "learn from the experience" of countries like Uganda in fighting AIDS and embrace the use of condoms to prevent its spread, a sensitive issue among conservative groups that have fought the adoption of any strategy that does not focus on abstinence.
Announcing some modest changes to government financing for antiretroviral drugs in front of a church-affiliated group in Philadelphia, Bush also argued for abstinence. But in his comments, he appeared to be offering something to both sides in the debate: His base of social conservatives as well as moderates in key states, who have complained that Bush has been too slow to embrace effective methods of preventing the disease.
"We can learn from the experiences of other countries when it comes to a good program to prevent the spread of AIDS, like the nation of Uganda," Bush said. "They've started what they call the ABC approach to prevention of this deadly disease. That stands for: Abstain, be faithful in marriage, and, when appropriate, use condoms."
The approach was working and was a "practical, balanced and moral message," Bush said.
He was quick to add that "in addition to other kinds of prevention, we need to tell our children that abstinence is the only certain way to avoid contracting HIV."
As audience members shouted "Yes!" in response to his words, he said. "It works every time."
Cries of "Every time!" and "That's for sure!" answered from the pews.
Uganda has used the ABC approach for years, but it did not originate there, as it is simply a mnemonic used by AIDS educators in many English-speaking countries. But Uganda's success in driving down new infection rates has drawn attention.
The program that the president visited here on his way to a private lunch with supporters in a wealthy corner of the suburb of Villanova is the charitable operation of the Greater Exodus Baptist Church, a predominantly black congregation.
The pastor, the Reverend Herbert Lusk II, a former professional football player for the Philadelphia Eagles, is a longtime supporter of the president.
Bush used the event to urge Congress to speed up financing of his plan to spend US$15 billion over five years to fight AIDS. He also announced that Vietnam would be added to the list of 15 countries receiving the money, making it the first Asian nation on the list.
Nonetheless, some activist groups have accused the Bush administration of doing too little -- the fight against AIDS needs at least US$30 billion over five years, they argue, and the money could be spent more quickly. They also accuse the administration of wasting taxpayer dollars on expensive brand-name drugs from big pharmaceutical companies with powerful lobbies.
Bush has mentioned condom use at least once before: Last July, in Entebbe, Uganda, on his trip to Africa.
‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’: The doll on Shein’s Web site measure about 80cm in height, and it was holding a teddy bear in a photo published by a daily newspaper France’s anti-fraud unit on Saturday said it had reported Asian e-commerce giant Shein (希音) for selling what it described as “sex dolls with a childlike appearance.” The French Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) said in a statement that the “description and categorization” of the items on Shein’s Web site “make it difficult to doubt the child pornography nature of the content.” Shortly after the statement, Shein announced that the dolls in question had been withdrawn from its platform and that it had launched an internal inquiry. On its Web site, Le Parisien daily published a
China’s Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft has delayed its return mission to Earth after the vessel was possibly hit by tiny bits of space debris, the country’s human spaceflight agency said yesterday, an unusual situation that could disrupt the operation of the country’s space station Tiangong. An impact analysis and risk assessment are underway, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said in a statement, without providing a new schedule for the return mission, which was originally set to land in northern China yesterday. The delay highlights the danger to space travel posed by increasing amounts of debris, such as discarded launch vehicles or vessel
RUBBER STAMP? The latest legislative session was the most productive in the number of bills passed, but critics attributed it to a lack of dissenting voices On their last day at work, Hong Kong’s lawmakers — the first batch chosen under Beijing’s mantra of “patriots administering Hong Kong” — posed for group pictures, celebrating a job well done after four years of opposition-free politics. However, despite their smiles, about one-third of the Legislative Council will not seek another term in next month’s election, with the self-described non-establishment figure Tik Chi-yuen (狄志遠) being among those bowing out. “It used to be that [the legislature] had the benefit of free expression... Now it is more uniform. There are multiple voices, but they are not diverse enough,” Tik said, comparing it
RELATIONS: Cultural spats, such as China’s claims over the origins of kimchi, have soured public opinion in South Korea against Beijing over the past few years Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday met South Korean counterpart Lee Jae-myung, after taking center stage at an Asian summit in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s departure. The talks on the sidelines of the APEC gathering came the final day of Xi’s first trip to South Korea in more than a decade, and a day after his meeting with the Canadian prime minister that was a reset of the nations’ damaged ties. Trump had flown to South Korea for the summit, but promptly jetted home on Thursday after sealing a trade war pause with Xi, with the two
RSS