Speaking from a little bit of experience, as I am the brother who went to “Teach in Uganda” (didn’t do a WHOLE lot of good, I don’t think, but I learned a lot), I have a few things to say about condom use in Africa.

For one thing, it’s difficult - condoms cost money. They are extremely cheap in Africa - government subsidized - and I believe there are places that you can get some for free, but that is a small stumbling block. As Andrew mentioned, the overwhelming majority of problems behind condom use are caused by ignorance and misconceptions about condoms and HIV AIDS.

The few groups of high school kids that I had the opportunity to talk to about AIDS (or, in some cases, that I had the opportunity to witness someone else talk at in Luganda about AIDS) were very receptive. There was very little moral opposition from what I could see, but there were a lot of misconceptions (AIDS only exists in Africa, condoms have HIV in them, as well as some that I didn’t personally witness: you can cure AIDS through sex with a virgin, or by taking a shower, as a high-ranking South African politician publically announced about a year ago). I’ve even heard of cases where someone’s idea of “using a condom” was to put it on a banana before sex, as is often shown in demonstrations…

Uganda is considered by a lot of the international community to be fairly “ahead” when it comes to the AIDS game. That is, they have been pushing the “ABC” (Abstinence/Be Faithful/Condomise) campaign for decades, now. Uganda is a pretty Christian country, too. However, every Ugandan I’ve spoken to about AIDS knows that it needs to be stopped in any way possible. Most are very receptive to condom education. And those who educate are not naive enough to think that kids aren’t going to screw at the first chance they get.

The shitty thing is that by many accounts we’re already too late. A huge portion of Africa (and, indeed, much of the developing world) is already infected with AIDS, and a massive swath of the productive population has already been wiped out by the disease. This means that thousands of children have been orphaned, none of whom can afford school fees (let alone decent food). Even if they manage to avoid AIDS themselves, the lack of education (even around the home - such as in cooking or farming techniques) is just as damaging. It’s pretty dire.

No sense to give up hope - if anything, the urgency means that efforts need to be continually ramped up. And not fucked up by the President and his Wife, who have decided to reduce/refuse aid for countries that decide to mention condoms on their anti-AIDS ads… Bleh.

Note: This post was snagged from the comments of this post, for those of you who haven’t read the discussion.