Bush uses World AIDS Day to push Christian right agenda
By Mike Ingram - World Socialist Web Site
For President George W. Bush, World AIDS Day was another occasion to pander to the Christian fundamentalist right wing
that makes up the political base of his administration.
Speaking December 1, before an assembled audience of top officials, with an African family flown in for the photo op,
Bush said, “I believe America has a unique ability, and a special calling, to fight this disease,” emphasizing US
support for the “ABC approach to prevention.”
He told the audience, “We’re working with our partners to expand prevention efforts that emphasize abstinence, being
faithful in marriage and using condoms correctly.” Bush claimed that this strategy was “pioneered by Africans” and has
“proven its effectiveness.” He stated that through the New Partners Initiative, Americans “will further reach out to our
faith-based community organizations that provide much of the health care in the developing world, and make sure they
have access to an American assistance.”
The “C” in US AIDS strategy is entirely subordinate to the call for “abstinence” and “being faithful.” In August 2003,
the Bush administration cut funding for an AIDS program working with refugees in Africa because one of the seven
organizations involved provided family planning and abortion advice.
US AIDS policy has been condemned both inside and outside of Africa by AIDS activists and even some governments. A
statement signed by 22 European Union member countries, led by Britain, said, “We are profoundly concerned about the
resurgence of partial or incomplete messages on HIV prevention which are not grounded in evidence and have limited
effectiveness.”….