Action Aid: US AIDS Policy: More Harm Than Good, Says Brazil

[Guest guest]

For

Immediate Release

April

16, 2005

Sandy Krawitz of ActionAid USA

202-835-1240 or 202-492-7207 (cell),

sandy.krawitz@...

or Tony Durham of ActionAid UK,

44 20 7561 7636 or 44 7957 870314 (mobile) or

tony.durham@...

US

AIDS Policy: More Harm Than Good, Says Brazil

In an unprecedented move, the Government of Brazil

yesterday refused a $40 million grant from the United States to fight

AIDS, saying its ideological conditions were too severe.

Nearly 700,000 individuals are inflicted with HIV/AIDS

in Brazil, many of whom are living in poverty.

The Bush Administration’s grant would have imposed scientifically

unverifiable, ideological clauses, such as one that asks the country to

officially condemn prostitution. Signing such a clause would have impeded AIDS

interventions within Brazil, which

orchestrates open relationships with prostitutes, homosexual men,

intravenous-drug users and other high-risk groups in order to fight the

pandemic.

“It is a simple fact that in order fight AIDS,

it’s crucial to work with the populations that face the greatest risk. It

would be a gross human rights violation to deny them life-saving assistance

based on moral grounds.” said Atila Roque, Executive Director of

ActionAid USA, and himself a Brazilian.

“That’s why we should praise the Brazilian government’s

decision, which will help to raise the stakes of international debate

concerning the Bush Administration’s ideological influence over foreign

aid policies.”

Added ActionAid International USA policy analyst, Rick

Rowden, " HIV/AIDS needs to be battled through a public health approach

which requires close working relationships with the most vulnerable

communities. You can't have a cooperative working relationship with, say,

prostitutes' associations that starts off with a blanket moral condemnation of

them. You might think you've taken the moral high ground, but that is not the

same thing as an effective anti-HIV/AIDS strategy. From this point on, the US is going to

need to decide if it is going to be moralistic or effective. "

According to Dr. Zeitz,Director of the Global

AIDS Alliance, “In turning down the US grant, the Government of Brazil is

actually protecting people at risk by ensuring science-based prevention

programs are implemented rather than ideologically-based prevention programs

that have no basis in scientific reality. This is a phenomenal development by Brazil, a

sovereign government which is finally standing up against policies that are

doing more harm than good.”

Interestingly, there are no Federal laws within the United

States banning prostitution. As a result, prostitution is legally

condoned within some Nevada counties.

According to a 10-year UCLA study, the occurrence of AIDS within condoned

rather than condemned brothels is significantly lower than that of the general

population.

States Almir Pereira Jr, program coordinator for

HIV/AIDS at ActionAid International Brazil, “more than the refusal of

accepting the US grant, the Brazilian government’s attitude represents

its commitment towards maintaining a democratic and progressive AIDS program,

as opposed to the conservative vision of the United States. Unfortunately, it

seems that the US policy is taking advantage of the

great poverty and high vulnerability of developing nations to impose its

conservative agenda as a condition for the countries to receive the financial

aid they desperately require. "

NOTES TO EDITORS

ActionAid International works in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas to fight

global poverty and tackle the injustice that causes it.