No Sex for Two Years, Moi Urges Kenyan People

President Daniel arap Moi has urged Kenyans to abstain from sex for at least two years to try to curb the spread of AIDS. Moi spoke Wednesday after the government announced plans to import 300 million condoms. "As a president, I am shy that I am spending millions of shillings importing those things," Moi told meeting participants of the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya on Wednesday. As a further preventive measure, Moi pleaded with Kenyans to refrain from sex "even for only two years," saying that was the best way to check the epidemic.

The government's plan to import the condoms ran into swift opposition from both Christian and Muslim religious leaders who believe the government should be more actively promoting abstinence. The Secretary-General of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, Sheikh Mohamed Dor, said the country was "committing suicide" importing so many condoms, a move he said would encourage young people to have premature sex.

In late 1999, Moi declared the epidemic a national disaster and set up a National AIDS Control Council. Kenyan Health Ministry experts estimate that 700 Kenyans die every day of AIDS, and a further 2.2 million are infected with HIV in a population of 30 million.

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