Sometimes religious or moral beliefs

Sometimes religious or moral beliefs involve codes of sexual and social behaviour that prevent the open discussion of issues related to
sexually-transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
Religious beliefs are an important part of the cultural identity of many people. Moreover, freedom of thought and religion is a basic human
right, recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that all states aspire to.
When religions promote love, generosity and acceptance of the dignity of all individuals, they are essential resources to help overcome
discrimination and favour tolerance in the context of HIV/AIDS. However one should also keep in mind that:
•Some religious interpretations consider HIV/AIDS a punishment for some kind of improper behaviour.
•Sex education and the promotion of condoms can be controversial.
Today, fears that sex education may undermine family values are largely unfounded. Research has shown, for example, that sex education can help
to delay the onset of sexual relations in adolescents and reduce the number of teenage pregnancies.
Here are several examples of how youth organizations together with religious leaders are responding to HIV/AIDS:
Talking about HIV/AIDS and respecting
freedom of thought and religion
group practice
The Islamic Medical Association of Uganda (IMAU)
has developed an AIDS education curriculum for
children and young people. Students learn about
HIV/AIDS transmission, prevention and control.
They are shown how to care for AIDS patients and
encouraged to help people in their own communities
who are suffering from AIDS. Teachers and their
assistants organize activities that include music, drama
and games. Parents and guardians are encouraged to
talk to their children about HIV/AIDS. IMAU gives
training to supervisors, who are themselves Imams,
County Sheikhs or appointed assistants. They, in turn,
train teachers from different mosques. At the beginning,
religious leaders did not permit the inclusion of
condom education in the curriculum, but later this
changed. IMAU tells the following about their
co-operation with Islamic leaders:
“ Perhaps the most difficult issue has been sensitising Islamic
leaders to the important role that the condom plays in
preventing transmission of the HIV virus. Some religious leaders
argued that condom education would promote sex outside
marriage, which is against Islamic law....In this dialogue, IMAU
stressed that the condom was only being promoted as AIDS
protection after the failure of a first and second line of defence:
abstaining from sex and having sex only within marriage. IMAU
argued that the third line of defence should not be ignored
because human beings have their weaknesses ,as witnessed by
the many cases of sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs).
....Married people who ignore condoms often leave orphans
behind and this destroys communities...
...At the end of the dialogue, the Islamic leaders agreed that
education on the responsible use of the condom was
acceptable within Islamic teachings and necessary to defend
communities against AIDS. The condom education
component was re-inserted into the education programme
in the second year ”.