By Ruben Obregon

For the past few days I've been reading "Population Control: Real Costs, Illusory Benefits," a forthcoming book by Population Research Institute's Steven Mosher.

What I found out in the section on AIDS in Africa stunned me.

In this chapter, Mosher details how the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) decided to integrate HIV/AIDS programs into existing family planning programs in Africa - with disastrous results.

Mosher attributes the reuse of dirty needles, including those used to inject Depo-Provera, for many of Africa's HIV infections. He also suggests that Norplant implantation and abortion by manual vacuum aspirator (MVA) may also put African women at risk.

The problem is that in many areas, needles and MVAs cannot be properly disinfected prior to being used again. (You read that correctly - needles are reused!) Additionally, local blood supplies are unsafe, and are often used as a last resort - often resulting in only a delayed death.

Mosher points out that David Gisselquist, Stephen Potterat, and their research team found that "two thirds of HIV/AIDS in Africa results from injections with infected needles or other medical exposures to infected blood."

In reviewing 22 separate studies in 2003, Gisselquist and Potterat found that:

• Injection was more associated with HIV than heterosexual sex.
• Most of those infected were in monogamous relationships
• Those who are more well off have higher rates of HIV, which is the opposite of typical STD patterns
• Clinic attendance was associated with HIV
• Infants also had high rates of non-mother to child transmission

They also found that sex related HIV cases only accounted for 25 to 35 percent of infections.

Mosher blames the situation on USAID's AIDS/SRH (sexual and reproductive health) approach.

"The reason why the integrated AIDS/SRH approach hasn't slowed the spread of HIV in Africa is because most HIV/AIDS cases on that continent are not the result of sexual contact at all. Rather they are the result of contact with HIV through dirty needles and other substandard, invasive medical procedures. More to the point, they are the result of the kinds things - Depo-Provera and other injections, Norplant insertions, IUD implantations, tubal ligations, and Manual Vacuum Aspirators (MVA) abortions - that are done to women at integrated AIDS/SRH clinics."

I find this information to be shocking, and I'm still wondering why we are funding family planning programs overseas to begin with? It seems like we have done more harm than anything.

For further reading:

Population Research Institute - Are Africans Promiscuous Unto Death?

WHO accused of huge HIV blunder