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Bob Geldof hails US abstinence initiative to combat Aids
Sep 27, 2006, 15:14 GMT
London - Irish anti-poverty campaigner and rocker Bob Geldof Wednesday hailed as 'highly effective' the abstinence initiative spearheaded by US President George W Bush in the fight against Aids in Africa.
Live Aid founder Geldof, guest speaker Wednesday at Britain's Labour Party conference in Manchester, northern Britain, said the controversial Pepar programme gave women 'a weapon' for protecting their health.
The Bush administration launched the 15-billion-dollar President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief in 2003, which has been criticized for diverting a third of the funds to faith-based groups that preach abstinence.
Opponents protest that it smacks of Christian fundamentalism and endangers lives by failing to place sufficient emphasis on condoms.
Geldof, stressing that he was an atheist, told the conference that Aids had stabilized in Africa - partly because of condom distribution.
But he added: 'Pepar, which is Bush's almost personal response to the Global Fund, is a highly effective Aids combatant mechanism. It works. It's uncomfortable for people to speak these unspoken truths but a lot of that stuff is working.'
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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