Bishops in Tanzania Oppose Teaching of Condom Use

Roman Catholic bishops in Tanzania have voiced opposition to a new textbook expected to be introduced to primary schools across the country and which features a section teaching students on how to use condoms.

|TOP|Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, Archbishop of Dar es Salaam, condemned the new textbook in a statement issued from Tanzania’s Episcopal Conference, reports Reuters.

He said the introduction of teaching the use of condoms in primary schools was “sinful” and “opening the door for immoral lifestyles”.

"Teaching children, some as young as 12 years old, the use of condoms is disastrous,” said Cardinal Pengo.

The Episcopal Conference of Tanzania has stuck to its policy of opposing the use of condoms in the fight against the pandemic.

|QUOTE|AIDS intervention programmes in Africa continue to focus on the use of condoms despite the findings of numerous studies that condom use is to a great extent ineffective in halting the spread of the HIV virus.

Multiple studies have found that there is at least a 10 per cent rate of failure with condom use in preventing the transmission of HIV/AIDS, despite the claims by condom advocates that it is 99 per cent effective.

Dr Norman Hearst of the University of California – San Francisco released statistics on Kenya, Botswana and other countries in January 2004 which revealed a link between increased condom sales and rising HIV infections by year, indicating that condom use may actually spread AIDS by convincing users falsely that they are protected from the virus and also through improper use.

The Conference said its opposition to condom use did not imply that the Church was "blind to the magnitude of the loss of life and suffering to millions of people infected by the disease". The church said, however, that it was obliged to defend the dignity of human beings and therefore had to speak out.

At least 2 million Tanzanians are infected with HIV/AIDS.