US Awards Interreligious Coalition in Uganda 15 Million in Fight Against AIDS

The US has given US$15 million to an interreligious coalition in Uganda that is dedicated to fighting the deadly AIDS virus.

The Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) brings together the Catholic Church in Uganda, the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, the Anglican Church of Uganda, the Uganda Orthodox Church and the Seventh Day Adventist Church to fight HIV/AIDS according to the ABC strategy - "Abstinence, Be faithful, use Condoms".

The council was created five years ago in direct response to the decision by the Bush administration to give funding to faith-based groups, many of which work to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS according to abstinence-only sex education schemes.

The grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) comes as part of US President George W. Bush's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the US embassy in Kampala said, and will be distributed in the form of a three-year grant.

The grant proposal outlines that the money will be used to promote "delayed initiation of sex among adolescent youth (and) increasing mutual fidelity among couples".

It "will enable IRCU to greatly expand HIV/AIDS services to local communities through its coordinated network of faith-based health units, non-governmental organizations, churches and mosques," Alyson Grunder, spokeswoman for the US embassy in Kampala, told AFP.

"The health units affiliated with IRCU -- currently offering over 40 percent of health care services in Uganda -- will deliver the clinical components of the programme," she added.

IRCU is also to mobilise and train volunteers to provide intermediate HIV/AIDS care, support for anti-retroviral drug treatment and referrals for specialised care.

The ABC programme has been relatively successful in Uganda, largely credited with helping the country reduce its HIV prevalence from more than 15 per cent in the 1990s to around six per cent today.

ABC was until recently the uncontested approach to AIDS among most Christians, but now faith leaders - including Purpose Driven pastor Rick Warren - are gradually shifting their support to alternative models which are said to be more comprehensive.

As the US continues to push for abstinence-centred programmes as opposed to schemes that incorporate the use of condoms, critics are worried that abandoning the "C" in the ABC might undermine the success that has been gained in Uganda as a result of the ABC model.