World AIDS Funding By US Goes Increasingly To Religious Groups

Yesterday's Washington Post reports that the Bush administration is directing more of its $15 billion program to fight AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa to groups with religious ties. Most of the funds go for treatment programs. The administration is encouraging new community and religious groups to get involved. Conservative Christian groups are encouraging the U.S. Agency for International Development to give fewer dollars to groups that distribute condoms or work with prostitutes. However, secular organizations in Africa are concerned that giving money to groups without AIDS experience may dilute the impact of the program. According to the State Department, last year religious organizations accounted for more than 23 percent of all groups that got HIV/AIDS grants. Longtime AIDS volunteers criticize the increasing emphasis on abstinence in the Bush administration programs. It has added to the stigma of condom use in parts of Africa, and has put pressure on girls to marry early and not finish their education.