AIDS Calls for Social Action, Not Only Drugs: European Experts

On Friday, participants at the 4th European AIDS Conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, said social measures -- not just medical treatment -- are needed to fight the epidemic. "Poverty, ignorance, unemployment and desperation are reasons why HIV is spreading so rapidly," said Sweden's Queen Sylvia. The three-day, UN-sponsored event brought some 260 experts from 38 countries to discuss ways to fight AIDS in eastern Europe. Srdan Matic, regional AIDS adviser at the World Health Organization, noted that "currently mass anti-HIV programs often do not reach marginal groups." "The spread of HIV more and more depends on social and psychological factors and less on medical aspects," said Judith Auerbach of the US National Institutes of Health. Lithuania's predominant Catholic Church did not welcome the conference and refused to take part, saying it disagrees with the activities of the local AIDS center. "The Church can not support activities aimed at preventing disease only by technical means such as syringes or condoms," said Cardinal Audrys Backis.

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