The First Lady began her trip to Africa today, and began her trip expressing disappointment in those who criticize the Bush AIDS plan for Africa. From the article:

Opponents contend that money under the Bush program is often siphoned off to faith-based groups that preach abstinence, but supporters say in Africa promoting the use of condoms has failed to halt the disease.

“I’m always a little bit irritated when I hear the criticism of abstinence, because abstinence is absolutely 100 percent effective in eradicating a sexually transmitted disease,” Bush said.

Actually from my semester spent working in an AIDS clinic, I got the crazy impression that the way to eradicate a disease like AIDS, was abstinence/safe-sex and also treatment. Treatment being the biggest lacking factor in US aid to Africa. The article also says that Bush is asking for a $15 billion emergency plan. This is the same plan he mentioned in the 2003 State of the Union address, of course it seems to have fallen off the radar as he’s about to give another SOTU in 2006.

We can only hope that a real commitment to eradicating AIDS through African will someday be made by the nations of the world with the financial and moral might to do so, but as long as we continue to talk about a $15 billion emergency plan that hasn’t happened and insist that abstinence alone is how to eradicate the disease, we’re hopeless.