UNAIDS welcomes Pope’s comments on condom use

UNAIDS welcomes Pope’s comments on condom use

2010-11-23 08:32:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- UNAIDS on Monday welcomed the comments made by Pope Benedict XVI regarding the use of condom to reduce risk of HIV/AIDS infection.

"This move recognizes that responsible sexual behavior and the use of condoms have important roles in HIV prevention," Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS said. "This significant and positive step forward would help accelerate progress towards eradicating the virus."

Reports surfaced on Saturday indicating that Pope Benedict XVI said that condom use is acceptable in certain cases, where the intention is to reduce the risk of HIV infection. The comment is included in the upcoming book "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times."

The Vatican newspaper released some excerpts from the book in which the Pope cites the example of the use of condoms by male prostitutes to reduce HIV risk, but remarked that condoms are not a moral solution to the issue.

UNAIDS have been working closely with the Vatican to combat HIV/AIDS. Sidibé has held far-reaching talks on HIV prevention with Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski in 2009.

"Together we can build a world with zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths," said the UNAIDS Executive Director.

According to UNAIDS, the single most effective available technology to reduce transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections is the male latex condom.

UNAIDS supports the use of all proven HIV prevention methods in pursuit of its objective of eradicating the 7,000 new HIV infections that occur each day. The Vatican prohibits the use of any form of contraception other than abstinence.

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