U.S. Cancels HIV/AIDS Program for Brazil

[Nambe]

DKT International
DKT International distributes family planning information to developing nations worldwide and is a global leader in the sale and distribution of socially marketed contraceptives.

In a startling move with apparent political motivations, the United States Agency for International Development has abruptly cancelled an $8 million aid package aimed at promoting and marketing condoms and other AIDS-prevention materials in Latin America's hardest-hit HIV nation: Brazil.

USAID has offered no specific explanation for the highly unusual cancellation, which was confirmed last week. The move could directly affect tens of thousands of at-risk Brazilians, including low-income women, and many observers suspect the cancellation is motivated by social conservatives within the Bush Administration who prefer an abstinence-only approach to AIDS despite numerous studies showing condoms to be a critical component in the war against HIV infection.

"Clearly, political forces in the Bush Administration became uncomfortable with the HIV prevention methods that USAID itself had identified as necessary and effective in Brazil," said Phil Harvey, president of DKT International, an AIDS-prevention nonprofit with extensive experience in Brazil. "Unfortunately, this fits a growing U.S. government trend to stop or disrupt effective HIV programs worldwide, thus leading to possibly millions of new deaths from AIDS across the globe."

For the $8 million Brazil program, USAID, in keeping with local mores and Brazilian government policies, had called on bidders to specifically raise HIV awareness among high-risk groups, including men who have sex with men, female sex workers, and others. It also called for the development of a condom used specifically for anal intercourse. ---


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[FlemingsGhost]

1. Another jewel in the crown of "Compassionate Conservatism"

God Ble$$ America...

[madrchsod]

2. no problem

the brazilians should ask china for the money that way the brazilians will be getting us dollars that bush can`t do anything about. the bush boys will try anything to screw the new government of brazil but the whole world knows it and will stick it to bush thru end around trade and humanitarin deals...there`s more than one way to skin a cat..sorry cat lovers couldn`t think of anything else.....

[loudnclear]

3. The US hates Lula...he's for the common person.

He and Chavez and Castro have warm relations. We will probably set off some act of terror in Brazil soon to destablize the country. That's what we do, you know.

[Judi Lynn]

4. I'm sure you're right

He's a "man of the people:"

(snip) Brazil's `Lula' bringing personality, popular finances to White House
By Kevin G. Hall and Dune Lawrence
Knight Ridder Newspapers


BRASILIA, Brazil - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will visit the White House on Friday for the second time in seven months, a sign of the growing importance of South America's largest economy and the growing international stature of its leftist leader.


Da Silva, a former machinist, labor leader and union organizer, initially frightened Wall Street and the White House with fiery populist campaign rhetoric. But since taking office Jan. 1, da Silva - known affectionately to Brazilians as Lula - has pursued his social agenda without challenging the free-market policies that brought Brazil billions in foreign investment in the 1990s.


By holding the line, Brazil has remained one of the most attractive markets for international investors, and da Silva arrives in Washington with a strong hand, even as much of Latin America is in an economic crisis. He also has a reputation for charm.


"Lula has a record of being quite effective in these personal appearances, and he still has an aura about him," said Thomas Skidmore, a longtime Brazil expert at Brown University's Watson Institute of International Affairs in Providence, R.I.


"It's pretty sensational that a former metal worker is flying around the world to negotiate with the strongest country in the universe."
(snip/...)

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/columnists/kevin_g_hall/6102961.htm



He'll need to keep a lot of body guards with him.

[burrowowl]

5. That will

learn them to march against guns!
Ain't compassionate conservatism great!

Too bad Bu$h and Co. won't be impeached and prosecuted, by the time elections roll around it may be too late.

[leesa]

6. Punishment for the WTO victory

Petty thugs. When will the US discover they are no longer King of the Economic Hill. Man, this administration does STUPID things! Bunch of childish brats.

[MaineDem]

7. After all the lies in the State of the Union speech

This adminstration takes the cake!

They make big news with their lies and then things like this hardly warrant a mention in the press.

I've written to my congressman this morning. THis is appalling.