On Monday, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch released an 81-page report accusing Uganda's government of shifting its HIV prevention approach to an abstinence-until-marriage focus and of discouraging the promotion of condoms. Ugandan and church officials denied the claim, saying the report was flawed and lacked any factual basis.

HRW's report charged that President Yoweri Museveni and his wife, Janet Museveni, were being swayed by U.S. Christian conservatives, risking Uganda's widely touted accomplishment of lowering its HIV infection rate from 15 percent in 1992 to 6 percent in 2002.

"The political climate favoring abstinence-only approaches in Uganda, including numerous anti-condom statements by President Yoweri Museveni in 2004, also influenced school teachers to teach abstinence as an exclusive method of HIV prevention," stated the report. "Mrs. Museveni has described abstinence-only approaches as a blend of African and Christian values and has used her position of influence to intimidate organizations that promote condoms to young people," it added.

"We are promoting abstinence in order to please the U.S. so that we get more funds," said Rubaramira Ruranga, a Ugandan AIDS advocate.

"The president and first lady are being misunderstood," countered Onapito Ekomoloit, Museveni's spokesperson. "They have been consistent in advocating for a multi-pronged approach."

That view was echoed by Dr. Alex Opio, assistant commissioner for National Diseases Control. "The government policy is A for abstinence, B for be faithful, and C for condoms for those who are high risk," said Opio, adding that HRW's report may have relied on hearsay. Uganda imports 80 million condoms a year, said Vasta Kibirige, condom-monitoring chief at the health ministry.

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