Report: Bush's Program to Combat HIV Abroad Fails Countries Struggling With Pandemic

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/04/1418234

Monday, December 4th, 2006
Report: Bush's Program to Combat HIV Abroad Fails Countries Struggling With the Pandemic

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A new report released by the Center for Public Integrity is the first of its kind to examine the policies, politics and goals of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief known as PEPFAR. The report finds that PEPFAR's faith-based ideology - including promotion of abstinence - often trumps science. The report states that PEPFAR is, "failing to help lead the world to stop this deadly disease. Instead of empowering people we are restricting them."
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A new report released by the Center for Public Integrity finds that President Bush's $15 billion dollar initiative to combat HIV abroad has failed countries struggling with the pandemic.
The report, titled "Divine Intervention," was released as countries across the globe observed World AIDS day on Friday. It is the result of a year-long investigation and is the first of its kind to examine the policies, politics and goals of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief known as PEPFAR. The center worked with reporters in eight countries who found that PEPFAR's faith-based ideology - including promotion of abstinence - often trumps science. The report states, "PEPFAR is failing to stop the global spread of AIDS and failing to help lead the world to stop this deadly disease. Instead of empowering people we are restricting them. We have a flawed framework with flawed policies."


Marina Walker Guevara, investigative reporter with the Center for Public Integrity. She traveled to Ethiopia to report on the local effects of PEPFAR policies.
Sarah Fort, investigative reporter with the Center for Public Integrity. She traveled to Haiti to report on the local effects of PEPFAR policies.


AMY GOODMAN: Marina Walker Guevara and Sarah Fort join us in Washington, D.C., investigative reporters with the Center for Public Integrity. Marina traveled to Ethiopia, and Sarah, to Haiti, to report on the local effects of the Bush administration policies. Marina, let’s begin with you. Give us a broad picture of this report and what you have found around the world.

MARINA WALKER GUEVARA: Yes, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has a series of very strict rules and funding restrictions that, we found, are very disconnected with the reality that those rules are supposed to serve in the field in the countries abroad, restrictions such as the type of work that you can do with commercial sex workers, restrictions around who can get information about condoms and who cannot get information about condoms, restrictions about how much money must be spent in abstinence-only programs. So all of these programs are disconnected or in some cases do not seem to fit the reality, the reality where very young girls get married in many areas in Africa, in Haiti, a reality where commercial sex work is a widespread profession in many countries, and in most cases, because these women do not have economic alternatives, do not have education opportunities and they must resort to this type of work.

AMY GOODMAN: One of the things in the report, in South Africa, almost one of every three pregnant women attending prenatal clinics in 2004 was infected with AIDS.

MARINA WALKER GUEVARA: Exactly, so South Africa continues to be the epicenter of the epidemic around the world. It’s a very difficult situation. They have had their own internal problems to come to terms with the disease, to finally address it, to work on it. And now, as I said before, these restrictions and these roles put another stone in the way, another difficulty, to really address the disease as it should be addressed.

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