] A study published in The Journal of Sexually Transmitted
] Diseases and Aids claims awareness of the risks posed by
] anal sex is ignored in many of the continent's health
] campaigns.
]
] However, HIV experts reject the findings, maintaining
] that vaginal sex is the main route of transmission for
] the Aids virus.
]
] The study by researchers at the University of Tuebingen
] in Germany proposes that anal sex, both heterosexual and
] homosexual, is the second biggest cause of HIV
] transmission in Africa.
]
] They say there is a presumption that anal sex simply does
] not happen in Africa and many educational programmes have
] therefore neglected to cover what they call an
] "embarrassing topic".

First off, it seems odd to hear the phrase 'anal sex' in the news.

But this story really does need more attention than a Beavis-and-Butthead chuckle. In the sidebar, it mentions this fact:

"There are 42 million people in the world living with HIV or Aids. Seventy percent of them are in sub-Saharan Africa, where Aids has already killed more than 14 million people. The overall infection rate in the region has stabilised, but the number of deaths each year is expected to rise further."

14 MILLION. And just under 30m of the 42m with the disease on the entire planet are on one continent. However, if you look at the "Success Story" sidebar, it notes that aggressive safe sex campaigns have lowered the HIV prevalance (in females) in Uganda from 27% in 1992 to 9% in 2000 - so it's not a lost cause. But the current governmental administrations need to understand that these kinds of programs need to be supported in African countries, and not to cut funding to overseas programs because of any pro-life/pro-choice stances. Cutting funding to these programs means that people will die - and that's not very pro-life, is it?

BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Africa 'needs anal sex awareness'