U.S. Wasted $1.4 Billion To Stop HIV In Africa By Promoting Abstinence. [View all]

[HuckleB]

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/05/03/476601108/u-s-spent-1-4-billion-to-stop-hiv-by-promoting-abstinence-did-it-work

"In the past 12 years, the U.S. has spent more than $1.4 billion funding abstinence programs in Africa. They're part of a larger program — called the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — aimed at stopping the spread of HIV around the world.

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But a study, published Monday in Health Affairs, finds the abstinence programs have been a failure.

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Congress funded the program with bipartisan support. But one part of the plan was controversial: A third of the money going toward HIV prevention was earmarked for programs teaching abstinence before marriage and faithfulness. This included sex education classes in schools and public health announcements on billboards and the radio.

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The earmark was added to please some Republicans, Dietrich says, "who wanted to make sure the money wouldn't be spent on anything that might be seen as promoting teenage sex or promiscuity."

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Just clarifying what we already knew, I suppose, but...