Ministry Leader: Washington Should Learn from Uganda's AIDS Prevention Strategy
by Jenni Parker and Chad Groening
December 9, 2003
(AgapePress) - A conservative pastor and pro-family spokesman is calling on Washington, DC, to address the AIDS crisis in the U.S. by embracing the successful abstinence program being used in Uganda, rather than by dispensing hundreds of thousands of free condoms in hopes of curbing the spread of the disease.Recently the City of Washington announced its goal of providing nearly 600,000 free condoms in offices frequented by the public. The city hopes the free condoms will help lower the city's high AIDS/HIV infection rate.
But Jesse Lee Peterson, founder and president of Brotherhood of a New Destiny (BOND), says dispensing condoms is not the answer. "You can pass out all the condoms in the world and that's not going to stop the AIDS virus from destroying the people, because a lot of these people are not even using the condoms," he says.
Peterson believes the real solution to the AIDS problem is morality and personal responsibility. "The AIDS epidemic will never end or calm down until people take control of their lives," he says.
The pastor points to the success of the AIDS prevention program in use in the African nation of Uganda. In the 1990s, the Ugandan government launched a multi-sector strategy that engaged faith-based organizations, among others, in the fight against the disease. Since the program's initiation, the country has seen a significant reduction in the incidence of HIV/AIDS, around 20% in some areas.
Uganda's strategy has been described as an "ABC program," emphasizing "Abstinence, Being Faithful and Condom Use," often in that order. Some observers note that the government of Uganda has been supportive of faith-based groups that offer AIDS education and awareness activities, even those that particularly promote abstinence and marital fidelity.
Maureen Farrell, an intern with the Congressional Research Service, conducted a study of the AIDS prevention program in Uganda. In her report, she concluded that "faith-based organizations have great potential to strongly influence what people know about AIDS and how they behave. Policy makers grappling with the merits of condom promotion for HIV/AIDS prevention should not overlook the work of Uganda's religious organizations."
Like Farrell, Peterson suggests that the U.S. might want to look to Uganda as an example of how to combat AIDS. The pastor feels the African country's plan for fighting AIDS is a far better model than many currently being implemented in the U.S.
"It's amazing that Uganda is trying to teach moral values, whereas the United States seems to be getting away from that," Peterson says, "and we used to lead the way in that at one point."
But BOND's president believes HIV/AIDS will run rampant in American society until it begins to rebuild the family. And as the family is rebuilt, he says, the moral principles that are the best protection against the deadly epidemic will be passed from parent to child.
"It is the responsibility of the father and the mother to teach those values," Peterson says, "and when they teach those values, we won't have to worry about [AIDS] being out of control in the manner that it is."
Rev. Peterson founded BOND, a national, nonprofit religious organization committed to "Rebuilding the Family By Rebuilding the Man," in 1990. Since its founding, BOND has worked to assist men and their families in regaining control of their lives and overcoming challenges through self-reliance, honesty, and service.
