Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said Thursday the government’s campaign to prevent HIV/AIDS by advocating condom use was ineffective because it failed to get the support of the Church.
Cabral, in a radio interview, claimed the Department of Health’s (DOH) ABC program against HIV/AIDS has failed because the Church apparently blocked its third component - which is encouraging people to use condoms.
The ABC program means A is for “abstinence from sex", B for “be faithful to your partner" and C for “condom use" to combat HIV-AIDS.
The DOH chief said while condoms are not 100-percent foolproof, they help prevent the incidence of HIV-AIDS infection.
Cabral also advocated that the best way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases is by being faithful to ones partner.
The DOH’s “Ingat Lagi, My Valentine campaign,†which was held last Valentine’s weekend at the Dangwa Flower Market in Manila, has received criticism from the Catholic Church for supposedly being “immoralâ€.
The DOH then clarified that the condoms given last Valentine’s weekend were not meant to promote artificial contraception, but rather a reminder to the public of the importance of responsible sexual behavior in combating the threat of HIV/AIDS.
The DOH, reiterating the words of Deputy Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo, explained that the condom distribution should not be construed as a signal that the government is advocating sexual licentiousness. The free condoms were just a tool of a creative campaign aimed at promoting awareness on HIV/AIDS prevention at a most opportune time – Valentine’s Day.
The health agency also pointed out that the distribution of the condoms to adults was undertaken by a private merchandising firm, DKT, and that the government did not spend for the procurement of the condoms, as it was also DKT that supplied them.
The DOH’s role in the campaign was focused on raising public awareness and information dissemination, as it employed counselors to explain the ABC campaign to the people who were present in the area during the weekend. - PNA
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Topic: Philippine HIV/AIDS campaign inffective due to lack support from Church (Read 1269 times)