[Vision2020] Larry Craig

[Pat Kraut]

While condoms do not 'prevent' AID's they can certainly slow the process. It
would be stupid to stop this program. I am going to let Craig know how much
I approve.
PK


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ralph Nielsen" <nielsen at uidaho.edu>
To: <Vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Friday, August 26, 2005 9:40 AM
Subject: [Vision2020] Larry Craig


What a pleasure it is to read something positive and intelligent from
Larry Craig. See the 4th last paragraph.

Ralph Nielsen



What? Condoms Can Prevent AIDS? No Way!

Published: August 26, 2005
Six years ago, former prostitutes in several Central American
countries began going to brothels, beer halls, bars and discos from
Tegucigalpa to Managua and Mexico City. Every night, these women
walked out of their homes and into the red-light districts in the
poorest parts of these very poor cities. They carried over their
shoulders bags filled with their props for the night.

Their aim was simple: to teach their former colleagues about the
dangers of H.I.V. and AIDS and how to protect themselves and others.

Because so many of the prostitutes are illiterate, each shoulder bag
of props contained materials for a game called Lotería (lottery). The
game is like bingo; the prostitutes sit around a table and receive
game cards, each with three rows and three columns: nine squares in
all. Each square has a picture, like a palm tree, a doctor or a
couple. The teacher holds up a pictograph card and calls out the name
of what is pictured.

For instance, holding up a picture of a palm tree, the H.I.V.
educator says, "La palmera," and then explains how condoms help
people avoid H.I.V. and AIDS, just as palm trees help them avoid
sunburn. Or, holding up a picture of la pareja (the couple), the
teacher may mention the need to talk about condoms with a client or a
partner.

If a game participant finds the pictograph on her Lotería card, she
places a chip on that image. The first player to cover all nine
images on her card wins a small prize.

Simple and straightforward, right? Well, not to Senator Tom Coburn,
the Oklahoma Republican who recently wrote to President Bush to
demand that the United States stop financing this preventive program,
run by Population Services International, a nonprofit group.

"The project which has been funding these prostitute parties is up
for renewal, and P.S.I. has applied for tens of millions more to
continue the project," Mr. Coburn wrote. "There is something
seriously askew at USAid when the agency's response to a dehumanizing
and abusive practice that exploits women and young girls is parties
and games."

Mr. Coburn also complained about the Noches Vives program: noches
means nights, and Vives is a brand of condoms. Because most
prostitutes in poor countries don't show up at local clinics to ask
for condoms, P.S.I. sponsors Noches Vives, which has aid workers go
to bars, brothels and other places where prostitutes congregate. They
go from table to table, asking prostitutes and their clients for 5 or
10 minutes of their time. They hand out condoms and, sometimes using
bananas as props, show people how to use them.

"It's a simple activity for largely illiterate people," said Michael
Holscher, the regional executive director for P.S.I. "We can't just
stand up in a bar and say, 'AIDS will kill you.' With an interactive
activity, we can hold their attentions, sometimes for as long as an
hour."

Apparently one hour of AIDS prevention in a Guatemala bar is one hour
too long for the senator from Oklahoma's delicate sensibilities. He
called Noches Vives a "misuse of funds to organize and sponsor
parties and dance contests to exploit victims of the sex trade."

Shortly after Mr. Coburn's letter went out, Population Services
International received word from the United States Agency for
International Development that it was cutting off money for the program.

Many of Mr. Coburn's fellow Republican senators disagree with him.
Larry Craig of Idaho, Orrin Hatch of Utah and Gordon Smith of Oregon
have asked USAid's administrator, Andrew Natsios, to reconsider.

"Controlling infectious diseases abroad is domestic policy as much as
foreign," Mr. Craig said. "Ignoring the problem by hamstringing
proven programs is a disservice to U.S. citizens who are impacted by
the wave of immigrants from these countries."

No kidding. It is also an absurd approach to curtailing AIDS. Mr.
Coburn, a doctor, has apparently forgotten everything they taught him
in medical school. Any doctor with sense knows that while abstinence
may be a surefire way to prevent AIDS, teaching condom usage to
prostitutes isn't far behind.

Let's hope the folks at USAid come to their senses soon.



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