Will Harsh Vardhan's 'cultural' solution help fight AIDS?

Mumbai: India’s Health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan is an ear, nose, throat (ENT) specialist but his recent comments border more on morality than medicine. 

In a recent interview to New York Times, Harsh Vardhan said that the thrust of the AIDS campaign should not be only on the use of condoms as it sends 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."

According to him, India can only battle with AIDS and bring the diseases under control when its citizens strengthen the moral fibre.

Giving his insights on the ‘Indian culture’, Harsh Vardhan said that the national campaign should also promote integrity of sexual relationship between husband and wife — "a part of Indian culture."

Right-wing Hindus organisations have been infamous for cracking down on lovers on Valentines Day and forcing to shut down pubs along, but this is the first time that a high-ranking minister has linked culture with AIDS.

Meanwhile, he said that his comments were misunderstood. 

Dr Harsh Vardhan has already issued orders to the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), which is responsible for running the HIV prevention programme in the country. It has been advised to tone down the emphasis on use of condoms.

Statistics reveal that the rate of HIV in India has halved in the last decade, however the diseases remains a concern in states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Uttar Pradesh among others.

Here is how Twitter responded to the controversial comment:

Read: Health Minister Harsh Vardhan’s clarification on his AIDS comment

I have expressed “disappointment” over the way sections of the media have distorted my statements in an interview to New York Times on June 24. 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.

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.

Apart from stressing the need for safe sex, I have also laid the foundations of a robust voluntary blood donation system throughout the country which would ensure safety as well as access to quality blood, thereby preventing transmission of the HIV virus through contaminated blood transfusions.

On June 14, which is observed as World Blood Donors Day, I personally donated blood at New Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and gave all citizens a call to donate blood throughout the year so that the annual deficit of 2-3 million units could be bridged. Any experienced NGO activist knows that condoms sometimes break while being used. That is why government campaigns in India, whether through the National Aids Control Organisation or the state governments, should focus on safe sex as a holistic concept, which includes highlighting the role of fidelity to single partners.

I am critical of reports that sought to draw a connection between my statement and the criminalisation of same sex in India. This matter is beyond the domain of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. I have said that the tradition of preserving the institution of marriage governs relevant government legislations. Even the law on divorce insists on attempts at reconciliation and suggest recourse to separation only in the last resort. The culture of regarding husband and wife as halves of a whole should be upheld in the modern age where one sees all-round crumbling of values.

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. So as Minister of Health I find it justified to include this simple message in the communication strategy of the government’s anti-AIDS programmes. Condoms promise safe sex, but the safest sex is through faithfulness to one’s partner. Prevention is always better than cure.