Condom ban fuels HIV

The rapid spread in Latin America of HIV, the virus that causes Aids, is made worse by the Roman Catholic Church's stand against using condoms, a UN official said on Monday.

Some 1.7 million people across Latin America have HIV infection or Aids, and the epidemic is spreading swiftly with up to 410 000 new cases in 2006, up from as many as 320 000 new cases in 2004, according to the UN Aids programme, UNAIDS.

Could be resolved
"In Latin America the use of condoms has been demonised, but if they were used in every relation I guarantee the epidemic would be resolved in the region," said Alberto Stella, the UNAIDS Coordinator for Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

The Catholic Church, which holds sway in Latin America despite the rise in evangelical churches, opposes all forms of contraception and instead promotes abstinence as a way to avoid spreading Aids.

"The fact that young people start to be sexually active between 15 and 19 without sex education contributes to the spreading of the virus, as well as the fact that the evidence shows abstinence is not working," Stella told Reuters.

Latin America is home to nearly half the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, but the Church's position on premarital sex and contraception often clashes with modern values. Brazil, the region's largest Catholic nation, regularly distributes free condoms to try and bring down HIV infection rates. – (Reuters Health)

Read more:
HIV/Aids Centre
Abstinence programmes fail

October 2007