A special issue of Sexuality Research and Social Policy, the official journal of the National Sexuality Resource Center (NSRC), examined a broad range of problem associated with abstinence only programmes.
Having reviewed 56 studies assessing the impact of abstinence programs and that of comprehensive programmes on adolescents’ sexual behaviour (pdf) Douglas B. Kirby, concluded that “abstinence programs have little evidence to warrant their widespread replication; conversely, strong evidence suggests that some comprehensive programs should be disseminated widely.”
More to the point (emphasis mine)
When comparing recent studies of the effectiveness of abstinence and …

Abstinence and faithfulness are often promoted as the only and best forms of protection against HIV infection. If the theory is true, in the real world abstinence and faithfulness have shown an impressive rate of failure. In a couple it takes two for it to work, and when single it takes an extremely powerfull mind to resist the call of nature, particularly under 30 (or more for some).
In a study published in Plos One, Keren Landman and colleagues examined the association between the number of sexual partners and HIV infection …

Ivory Coast Campaign
(Click to enlarge)

A few days ago Elizabeth Pisani commented on her website on how the Cambodian government caved in to US pressure. US pro-abstinence ideologues were meddling with a recognised efficacious HIV prevention intervention in exchange for economic advantages.
This was an interesting post and it fitted with one of the main theme explored in Elizabeth’s book, i.e. how ideology can take over epidemiology and surveillance data when it comes to designing HIV prevention programme.
Interestingly, in a Washington Post column, Rev. Sam L. Ruteikara, co-chair of Uganda’s …

In The Invisible Cure: Africa, The West and the Fight against AIDS, Helen Epstein suggests that “What may have helped spare the West a heterosexual AIDS epidemic on the scale of Africa’s is the romantic belief that there is a”perfect partner” , a “soul mate”, to be cherished “for richer or poorer” – if not for life, then for a long time.”
This is a rather convincing argument. Epstein built here on some serious research made in collaboration with Population Service International (PSI) and previously published in Health and Policy development. …