Shhh... we're trying to help you.

I was reading a fascinating article this week in the Chicago Tribune about how Senegal has one of the lowest concentrations of HIV-infected adults on the continent of Africa. This is partially due to the fact that Senegal is a predominantly Muslim nation (they don't drink -- and we all know that drunk sex = stupid sex; they don't allow the kiddies to socialize; they actually have some morals.) This is also due in great part to the fact that Senegal has adopted a comprehensive sex education program in their schools. As early as 1st grade, children are give AIDS awareness training, and at age 12 they begin sex education. The imams, of course, do not teach condom usage in the mosques, but they can and do discuss HIV and AIDS outside of the mosques as well as refer people to the local clinics and doctors who can have these discussions more openly, without violating Islamic laws. One imam who was interviewed for the article said that they treat HIV and AIDS like any other disease. BRILLIANT!

And what is OUR country doing to help the rest of Africa, you might wonder? What are we doing for the sub-Saharan nations of Africa with 25.8 million HIV-infected people? What plan of action do we have in place to help them? Never fear. Our President, in his wisdom, has just the answer. It's PEPFAR. PEPFAR is the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Sounds great, doesn't it?! But wait -- there's more. Or, more accurately, there's less. In order to receive PEPFAR funding, countries have to "constrain teaching about condoms in favor of abstinence-based lessons." So... in order to receive money from the U.S. for AIDS education, countries cannot talk about condoms? We will help you stop the spread of this horrific disease that is ravaging your nations, but you can't talk about the one thing that will help stop the spread of this horrific diesease. What the -- ?!?!?!

- Inda