AMERIKANERE ER ONDE, DUMME OG SNERPEDE

Mikkel ovre på Mr Andersson mener på baggrund af en artikel af Adam Graham-Silverman i Slate at USAs politik ift AIDS-bekæmpelse og familieplanlægning i Afrika er "uansvarlig og stupid". Personligt undrer jeg mig over om han overhovedet har læst hvad der reelt står i artiklen.

Hvis De ikke ved det, så bliver USA´s penge til AIDS-bekæmpelse og familieplanlægning fordelt på baggrund af den såkaldte ABC-strategi: "Abstinence, Be faithful, use Condoms". Slate-artiklen bruger så det meste af sin plads på at recitere en sand litani af påstande om at USAs politik er at prale af C´et, men reelt kvæle det i fødslen. Et par eksempler:

"We see condoms as an essential part of the array. [Bush's plan] was forced to kowtow to this right-wing lobby that really wants to see the A-B portion only. They've really downplayed the C portion."

Og før det:

"Abstinence works, being faithful works, condoms work. They all have a role in the important mix," Randall Tobias, the head of Bush's plan, told Congress in March. Tobias makes it sound like all three are deployed equally, which is far from the case.

Det sidste er faktisk rigtigt, men ikke helt som Graham-Silverman tror:

The United States does fund condom promotion in Mozambique, mostly through a group called Population Services International, which is well known for condom advertising and distribution around the world. PSI had to change its accounting practices to play within the new guidelines. The group bought about 21 million condoms for Mozambique last year, using money from Britain. Its U.S. funds go to promoting condom use, not purchasing prophylactics.

If truckers use condoms, it's probably thanks to PSI. PSI runs the Jeito campaign, which distributes the condoms nationwide, sells them below cost, and promotes safe sex on bright green and yellow billboards, often showing couples in humorous situations. PSI's agents sell Jeitos even in remote areas, so most barracas have them for sale alongside the food and drink. The United States gave PSI $1.2 million for this effort in Mozambique in 2004, most of the $1.54 million allocated for non-AB prevention activities. Abstinence and fidelity programs got just over $2 million. The United States also buys condoms for free distribution at all the country's
public health centers.

Det vil sige at af de godt 3,5 millioner $ USA poster i Mocambique bruges 1,5 million på C´et - kondomer. Graham-Silverman har ret - der bruges overhovedet ikke lige meget på hver strategi, der bruges mere på kondomer end på hvert af de to andre.

Update:

Jeg fandt lige et læserbrev i Politiken fra 1/6, der fortjener en behandling. Tom Christiansen, "konsulent" skriver:

Politiken beskrev 29. 5., at det er lykkedes højrereligiøse amerikanske kræfter at sætte et usmageligt og skandaløst aftryk på USAs ulandshjælp: For at få del i de penge, som USA bevilger til aids-bekæmpelse i de afrikanske ulande, skal landene forpligte sig til at stoppe med at informere om kondomer og prævention

Det er ikke bare usandt, det er decideret løgn!

Bemærk forøvrigt hvordan det altid er "højrereligiøse" kræfter der står bag - uagtet at den største religiøse bevægelse der går imod kondomer i USA (den katolske kirke) støtter venstrefløjen i amerikansk politik. De venstrereligiøse kræfter får bare stort set ingen opmærksomhed i de danske medier fordi de tilfælgidvis støtter dem vi godt kan lide.

Helt ærligt.

Update II:

Mens vi er ved "uansvarlig og stupid", så fortæller Slate-artiklen også om de lokales seksuelle (u)vaner:

It doesn't take long for a few girls to wander over and strike up a conversation, then a negotiation: How much for sex? And where? The woman may ask the trucker to use a Jeito, a brand of condom widely available at these way stations. But he may offer a little more money to keep the condom in its wrapper.

These women are rarely full-time sex workers. They come out to the barracas when they need cash for school fees or clothing. And part-time prostitution is not the only unorthodox sex practice that's common in Mozambique. To prove their virility, men often take a second or third wife. Women spend years scarring their legs and stomachs to make themselves sexually attractive. Migrant workers often return to their families from jobs, and sexual liaisons, abroad. And in some regions, when a man dies, his wife must sleep with one of her husband's male relatives, a practice known as sexual cleansing. This mix of sexual economy and cultural practice is a petri dish in which HIV grows and spreads with speed and ease.

Måske det faktisk VAR en ide at prædike lidt om abstinens og troskab i sådan en kultur? Bare en ide.

Henrik