U.S. Gov't Officials Voice Support of ABC Model at 'Purpose Driven' HIV/AIDS Conference
Government officials at the HIV/AIDS conference hosted by Purpose Driven Ministry and Saddleback Church voiced their support of the ABC model in the battle against the global epidemic claiming more than 8,000 lives a day and 5 lives a minute.
LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Government officials at the HIV/AIDS conference hosted by the Purpose Driven ministry and Saddleback Church voiced their support of the ABC model in the battle against the global epidemic claiming more than 8,000 lives a day and 5 lives a minute.
During the second general session of the “Disturbing Voices” HIV/AIDS conference at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., Claude Allen, Chief Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and Patrick Purtill, a representative from the office of the U.S. Department of State: Global AIDS Coordination, both voiced their support of the ABC (Abstinence, be Faithful, or use Condom) model.
“The ABC model provides hard data,” said Purtill during the first day the three-day conference, which ends on Dec. 1. “The only 100 percent way of prevention is to abstain or be faithful.”
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White House representative Allen held up Uganda as an ABC model success story. The country during the course of 15 years was able to cut the HIV infection rate by more than 50 percent. The Chief Assistant further noted that during his meeting with the Ugandan president and the Ugandan first lady, they discussed the effectiveness of the ABC model in the African nation, a prevention that calls for a change in behavior.
“The ABC model focuses on the individual and gets them to realize that if they don’t get ABC right then there’s D – Death,” said Allen.
Purtill also quoted statistics from the recently released UNAIDS/WHO report on the AIDS Epidemic that highlighted countries such as Kenya, Zimbabwe and those in the Caribbean regions that have shown decline in HIV prevalence, noting that the ABC model “has been the official policy of many countries in Africa.”
In conclusion, both White House representatives confirmed the importance of the church and faith-based groups in promoting the ABC model and providing prevention education.
“Until a cure comes we will never be able to treat the pandemic. The only way is effective prevention and it must be promoted by the church,” concluded Allen.
