TEGUCIGALPA, 23 October: The rapid spread in Latin America of the virus that causes AIDS is made worse by the Roman Catholic Churchs stand against using condoms, a UN official said on Monday.
Some 1,7 million people across Latin America are infected with the HIV virus or full-blown AIDS, and the epidemic is spreading swiftly with up to 410.000 new cases in 2006, up from as many as 320.000 new cases in 2004, according the UN AIDS program, UNAIDS.
– In Latin America the use of condoms has been demonized, but if they were used in every relation I guarantee the epidemic would be resolved in the region, said Alberto Stella, the UNAIDS Coordinator for Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
The Catholic Church, which holds sway in Latin America despite the rise in evangelical churches, opposes all forms of contraception and instead promotes abstinence as a way to avoid spreading AIDS.
– The fact young people start to be sexually active between 15 and 19 without sex education contributes to the spreading of the virus, as well as the fact that the evidence shows abstinence is not working, Stella concluded.
Kilde: The Push Journal
