Madam, - It is one of the objectives of Ireland's European presidency to put African issues high on the EU agenda. These include, among the main items of concern, poverty, conflict and the spread of HIV/Aids.
Several EU meetings on these problems have already taken place; another will be held in Dublin on April 22nd to discuss HIV/Aids and governance in Africa, as reported in your issue of April 1st.
One of the participants at these meetings, Mr Poul Nielson, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, is advocating the use of condoms in the fight against AIDS (The Irish Times, April 2nd).
The policy advocated by Nr Nielson, which is in operation in South Africa, has failed. Between the late 1950s and 2001, HIV cases increased from 30,000 to a staggering 4.2 million (WHO data).
In contrast, the number of people infected by HIV in Uganda over the same period dropped dramatically. This was due to a behaviour change campaign and other measures backed by the government there (Harvard University survey).
In a recent research paper presented at the Medical Institute of Sexual Health in Washington DC, Dr Edward C Green of Harvard University's Centre for Population and Development Studies stated that "20 years into the pandemic there is no evidence that more condoms lead to less Aids".
What is needed in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, is not more condoms, but medical and financial aid and fair trade to help overcome the appalling poverty found there. - Yours, etc.,
IVO O'SULLIVAN,
Chairperson,
Family and Media
Association,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.