ACCRA, Ghana (PANA) - The promotion of condoms appears to be the most effective preventive strategy against the spread of HIV/AIDS, as partner limitation, faithfulness and abstinence do not seem to be catching on, especially among the youth.
Consensus on condoms is building up among experts and others since morality has shown its incapacity as a way of preventing the further spread of the incurable disease.
While HIV/AIDS awareness appears to be very high among the population in most parts of the world, this has not led to the much desired behavioural change.
Consequently, more than 33.4 million people now live with HIV, which leads to AIDS.
However, most religious groups have not accepted the condom, alleging that their use promotes immorality within society.
But scientific, clinical and sociological experts dealing with HIV prevention see this anti-condom stance as a hinderance.
"Religion is proving to be a barrier and we cannot talk to them about condoms...this is an obstacle since church members are getting infected too," said Bernice Heloo of the Society of African Women for AIDS (SWAA) at a recent workshop on the use of the female condoms in Accra.
"Sex is a powerful weapon being used by the devil to make even men of God fall so it does not matter if you are in the church.
"If you do not want to talk of condoms, what about your friends and those outside. You need to inform them about the condoms," added Charity Binka, another participant at the same workshop.
Is the church taking an ill informed, prejudiced and fundamentalist position? The response to this is is mixed, judging by statements made at the Accra workshop.
Evelyn Quaye of the Ghana National AIDS Control Programme said the advocacy and educational programmes for the churches include educating them on abstinence, partner limitation and condom use.
"We teach them everything because some may come into the church fold as 'born again Christians' but may end up infecting the faithful.
Besides, there are some stubborn ones who do not want to listen to messages on abstinence and we have to protect them and others through condom use."
"I take all my tools, condoms and all, to talk to them and demonstrate the use of the condoms to church members any time I have the opportunity to educate them."
However, some churches especially in Uganda and other eastern African countries are said to be responding favourably to condom use.
But condom-based prevention strategies are to a large extent still regarded as "a no go area" by most religious groups. A case in Kenya illustrates this point.
Kenya's leading daily, the Nation, recently published the ongoing debate about dealing with the country's AIDS crisis. This torched off a conflict between the country's president and a prominent Catholic Bishop.
The confrontation occurred after President Daniel arap Moi, reversed his earlier stance that it would be "morally wrong" for him or his government to advocate condom use to control AIDS.
Moi announced that state-run radio and television would give free airtime to help educate the population about condom use and AIDS prevention.
Catholic Bishop John Njue rejected the use of condom, instead calling for faithfulness among married couples and abstinence for others.
"Nobody has ever died of faithfulness," he was reported as saying.
The Nation published a letter from an international organisation, "Catholic For A Free Choice", whose President Frances Kissling, had urged Bishop Njue "to follow the humanitarian example of the French and German Bishops who had recognised the moral imperative of allowing the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS, and allow the Catholic faithful to make their own decisions about condom use."
The hard-line Bishop Njue had claimed that the "rampant use of condoms was to blame for the spread of AIDS."
However, Maurice Ocquaye, the Salvation Army AIDS Project Co-ordinator, argues that if the churches are against condoms because it is "worldly", then they should also oppose the use of injections, drugs and other medical inventions which are not in the Bible.
Ocquaye says that his oranisation does not condemn the use of condoms as a preventive measure against HIV/AIDS.
He criticised the opposition to condoms by some churches, especially the most charismatic, which "do not allow health workers to even mention condom to their congregations.
"Some of the pastors view the AIDS menace as a punishment from God, in which case any AIDS victim should bear the consequences of his or her sins."
He noted that working on condom promotion with some church organisations, such as the Christian Council of Ghana has been encouraging.
"With some of the orthodox churches it is a fifty- fifty issue, and we have even enjoyed working with them since they have been more open."
Ocquaye is of the view that no pastor has the moral right to judge anyone.
"The individual church members would give account individually to God but the pastors owe it as a duty to give all the information available to their congregations.
The individual would then decide whether to use the condoms if abstinence proves difficult."
But since most churches would not abandon their rigid stance against condoms, there is needs to encourage them intensify their alternative ways of preventing the still galloping spread of HIV in the world.
