Report from the United Nations
African Leaders Convinced UFI 's Stay Alive Program is Vital in Defeating
‘the Beast'
By Linda Ash
June 9, 2005
On June 1st,
I attended a Civil Society Meeting in which some 80-90 men and women from
all over the world met to discuss the paralysis of the UNAIDS organization.
This United Nations-funded world organization and their well-intentioned goals
of dramatically reducing HIV/AIDS have failed miserably. In fact, the spread
of HIV/AIDS and the resultant mortality rates have dramatically increased
in the last five years. The statistics are incomprehensible. One African country's
HIV/AIDS count shows that almost 40 percent of their people are infected.
In this and other African countries, their work force is dying. “The
beast” of HIV/AIDSis destroying African societies and more importantly
African families.
As I sat and listened and felt their anger and frustration, it was ironic that they continually said, “Something more must be done!”… “We must hold our leaders accountable.” But just moments later these same spokesmen would jeer at the moral high ground that our current United States presidential administration has taken.
One person said: “President Bush hates needles, condoms and sex and he refuse to give financial aid to any who use them.”
Was I really hearing what I was hearing? I recognized quickly that my views were against everything that this body stood for. They spoke of strategies that could be used in upcoming HIV/AIDS conferences to get the funding necessary. “More money! …We know that we can beat this pandemic if the United States and others with deep pockets would just give more money.”
We broke into smaller roundtables during lunch, and for the first time, I let my voice be heard: “Abstinence is the key to saving the rising generation. Teach them self-denial and HIV/AIDS can be conquered.”
Stares and silence. And then the gentleman from India who was leading our round table discussion politely said, “If we suggest abstinence, nothing else we present will be taken seriously.”
How sad is that?
Ironically, on June 3rd, UFI 's Stay Alive program was presented to delegates, ministers of health, ministers of education and ambassadors from three African countries. These are men and women who, unlike the members of the civil society, have a more dramatic and urgent need to find a solution to this deadly disease. Kelli Houghton, the Stay Alive program director, explained the major points of the Stay Alive program: consequential thinking, right choices bring good consequences, abstinence before marriage and faithfulness after marriage. As we introduced a Stay Alive skit and explained that six-, seven- and eight-year-old children act out the process by which the healthy body's immune system fights off malaria, TB and diarrhea. But when the HIV virus attacks the body, the immune system is overcome and “dies.” Malaria, TB and any other infection or disease can then freely attack, overcome and eventually kill the human body.
These heads of government were good sports as they helped act out the skit usually performed by young children in the Stay Alive program.
And then these distinguished men and women stood up, clapped their hands in rhythm and sang the chant that thousands of children in Africa are now singing.
I choose to live
A long loving life
I said I choose to live
A long loving life.A loving family
Will bring happiness to me.
I said a loving family
Will bring happiness to me.I'll love and respect
My body I'll protect
I said I'll love and respect
My body I'll protect.I'll choose the right
A brighter future is in sight
I said I'll choose the right
A brighter future is in sight.I'll STAY ALIVE.
I'll STAY ALIVE.
I said I'll STAY ALIVE.
I said I'll STAY ALIVE.
It was powerful and the participants felt the power. These good men and women aren't discounting “Abstinence before marriage and faithfulness after marriage.” They see this as the only hope their countries have to conquer “the beast.”
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