Vatican: Condoms can stop diseases
The Vatican clarified that the Pope did not approve condoms for contraception.
Vatican: Condoms can stop diseases
The Vatican clarified that the Pope did not approve condoms for contraception.
Vatican: Condoms can stop diseases
The Vatican clarified that the Pope did not approve condoms for contraception.
Catholics defy Pope, hand out condoms
Catholics defy Pope, hand out condoms
1 in 7 gay men in D.C. are HIV+
About one in seven gay men in Washington, D.C., are HIV positive. That staggering figure was released last week by the D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration [1], according to a story by The Washington Post [2].
In a study of 500 gay men in the city, more than 40 percent of the participants were unaware of their diagnosis prior to the study. One in three men reported they didn’t know the status of their last partner.
[3]
“This is a wake-up call,” gay D.C. Council member David A. Catania told the Washington Post. “It’s time for my generation to assume greater responsibility for themselves and their partners. Just because we escaped the epidemic of the 1980s doesn’t mean we are immune.”
Last year, the city distributed more 3.5 million condoms and tested 95,000 people for HIV.
While the figures for HIV among gay men in D.C. are high – almost five times higher than the rate of HIV among adults and teens across the city – figures in other cities are higher. In San Francisco, 24 percent of gay men are HIV positive; in New York it’s 25 percent and in Baltimore, an astounding 40 percent.
[1] http://doh.dc.gov/doh/cwp/view,a,1371,q,573205,dohNav_GID,1802.asp
[2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/25/AR2010032503730.html
[3] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-hiv-testing-top.jpg
Charity criticized for handing out condoms
A Yorkshire org has come under fire for nailing bags of condoms to trees in a popular cruising area.
BURUNDI: AIDS activists condemn new anti-gay law
The Burundian Senate overwhelmingly voted against the draft bill in February, but in March the lower house of parliament reversed this decision, and President Pierre Nkurunziza signed it into law on 22 April.
“We regret that the law will hamper Burundi’s attempts to fight AIDS by further marginalizing an at-risk population,” said a statement by international rights groups, including the New York-based Human Rights Watch, local rights group Ligue Iteka and local AIDS NGO, Association Nationale de Soutien aux séropositifs et Malades du Sida (ANSS). “We urge the Government of Burundi to act promptly to decriminalize homosexual conduct.”
People found guilty of engaging in consensual same-sex relations risk imprisonment of two to three years and a fine of up to US$84. “Our activities will be hampered by this law,” said Georges Kanuma, chairman of the Association pour le Respect et les Droits des Homosexuels (ARDHO), a local gay rights movement.
“Our organization is now closing down its offices [in the capital, Bujumbura] because we are afraid that with the new law we may be arrested.” ARDHO has been in existence since 2003 but has never managed to gain legal recognition as an NGO.
The association distributes water-based lubricants and condoms, and raises awareness of HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with men. According to Kanuma, most Burundians are not even aware of the existence of men who have sex with men in their society.
“We are hoping to meet CNLS [Burundi's national AIDS control council] officials to see if they will also stop the activities they were planning for men who have sex with men,” he added.
In its latest national strategic plan, CNLS lists men who have sex with men among the groups vulnerable to HIV, and recognizes the need for targeted prevention activities in this community. MORE
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/burundi-aids-…
The gay condom debate
To wear or not to wear? The condom debate among gay men, especially in Washington, D.C., where HIV cases are alarmingly high, is especially important.
Gay men do not need condoms for their primary use – birth control – but still need them to protect against sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.
An estimated one in 20 adults in D.C. is affected with HIV and 37 percent of cases affect sexually active gay men, according to the Whitman-Walker Clinic, which provides HIV testing.
While some gay men do not use condoms because it “feels better” or “feels more natural,” other gay men in the D.C. community are speaking out and promoting safe sex.
Michael Komo, president of GW’s Allied in Pride, is taking steps forward in promoting condom use among gay men.
“There is no reason for two people who are sexually active with one another to not use condoms,” Komo said. “We need to do everything as a community in order to promote safe sex.”
While he promotes condom use, Komo also suggests sexually active gay men get tested for HIV every six months.
“My philosophy is that it is better to be safe than sorry. I have done everything in my power to promote sex safe,” said Komo. “I am a huge advocate for using protection. I think that there will always be a debate, whether it be among gay men or straight partners, about whether or not to use a condom during sex.”
GW’s Allied in Pride office provides free condoms.
“We want people to protect themselves if they are having sex,” Komo said. “There is no reason for people to not be safe. (Condoms) take very little effort to use. We always have and always will advocate for practicing safe sex.”
The George Washington University The GW Hatchet* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/gay-condom-de…
Vatican accuses AIDS groups of intimidation
(Vatican City) The Vatican on Friday denounced the criticisms of the pope’s comments about condoms and AIDS during his trip to Africa, saying they marked an unprecedented attempt to intimidate him into silence.
Pope Benedict XVI said last month that condoms weren’t the answer to Africa’s AIDS epidemic and could make …
Outsourced condom production could shut US factory
The last U.S.-based supplier of condoms for global HIV/AIDS prevention programs could be forced to shut its doors because the federal government sent the work to cheaper suppliers in Asia.
The change came earlier this month as Congress dropped a requirement that the government buy American-made condoms when possible, with exceptions …
