Condom reluctance despite ABC strategy - study

Sexually active men in central Uganda are not using condoms, despite the government's anti-AIDS model of 'Abstinence, Be faithful and Condom-use' (ABC). According to a joint survey in 2004 by the national AIDS commission and the District Directorate of Health Service in central Uganda's Mukono district, almost 67 percent of men were engaging in unprotected sex. Suzan Wandera of the directorate told the local New Vision newspaper that the average age for first-time sexual encounters in Mukono was 17 years, and 52 percent of the residents were aware of the ABC strategy against AIDS. She warned that AIDS prevalence rates in the area were in danger of surpassing the national rate of six percent.