Harsh Vardhan clarifies condom remark, says he was misquoted

MUMBAI: Health minister Harsh Vardhan has sought to clarify his comments on use of condoms to prevent HIV AIDS, claiming that his statement was distorted to give an impression that he had a moral problem with condoms even as he reiterated his views on the importance of fidelity in preventing the disease. “Through misleading headlines an impression is sought to be created that I have misgivings about the efficacy of condoms or that I have a moral problem with condoms,” the minister said in a press note on Wednesday.

“This is apart from the fact because for the past two decades I have been stressing the need for safe sex using a combination of condoms and discipline which is in line with the Abstinence-Be Faithful-Condom (ABC) line of UNAIDS which has yielded great success in Uganda and now forms part of the anti-AIDS campaigns of several countries,” he added.

Earlier, in an interview with the New York Times, the minister had said that India’s AIDS campaign should not only be on the use of condoms as it sends out the wrong message that “you can have any kind of illicit sexual relationship, but as long as you’re using a condom, it’s fine”. The national campaign should also promote integrity of sexual relationship between husband and wife, he had said. “My statement on informing people on the supremacy of fidelity as an AIDS prevention measure is not only a piece of cultural advice but also a scientific one,” Harsh Vardhan said. “Condoms promise safe sex, but the safest sex is through faithfulness to one’s partner. Prevention is always better than cure,” he added.

The minister, who is an ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist, has instructed the National AIDS Control Organisation or NACO to tone down emphasis on condoms and focus on promoting morals. The minister said the move was an attempt to look at HIV AIDS prevention holistically. In his statement, he said that any experienced NGO activist knows that condoms sometimes break while being used. That is why government campaigns in India, whether through NACO or the state governments, should focus on safe sex as a holistic concept which includes highlighting the role of fidelity to single partners.

However, certain public health activists are worried that too much emphasis on the “ABC” approach might undermine the years of work done in tackling HIV. “We have to really question the effectiveness of ABC approach in preventing AIDS, especially in context of Uganda where data suggests this approach has not worked,” said Leena Menghaney, a public health law and policy lawyer.

“Condoms availability and usage are essential public health tools in combating increasing infection rates of STIs, HIV and hepatitis in the country. Ironically, by emphasising abstinence over condom use, the approach also leaves women at risk of infection, because in many parts of the country women are not empowered to insist on abstinence or fidelity,” she added.