Botswana and Zimbabwe are ranked among the top countries world-wide for HIV prevalence. Yet both countries are condom-friendly and make condoms readily available. In 1991, Uganda also had an HIV infection rate of more than 20%. By 2001, however, the rate was only 6%.
A 2002 Harvard study conducted by anthropologist Edward C. Green and Vinand Nantulya, an infectious-disease specialist, revealed the cause of the discrepancies between Uganda's HIV infection rate and those of other heavily infected countries. Uganda had begun a program focusing on abstinence and fidelity instead of condoms. While the rate of HIV infection in every other country continued to escalate, Uganda's fell dramatically. (Lest there be any concern over the researchers' religious zeal, Mr. Green describes himself as a "flaming liberal" who does not attend church.)"
Care for ketchup on your crow?
From what I can find, the decline in HIV infections in Uganda has been widely attributed to a combination of education about abstinence, marital fidelity and...GASP! condom use.
As an aside, I recall reading in an article that Catholic Church reps in Africa were in fact even discouraging condom use within marriages where one partner was known to be HIV positive. That's not merely irresponsible, it verges on homicidal.
Snidely