Lusaka - Church groups have blasted a hard-hitting safe-sex advertising campaign by the Zambian government to combat Aids, saying it encouraged promiscuity and moral decay.
The nationwide adverts, urging Zambians to practise safe sex by using condoms, are aimed at curbing the spread of HIV and Aids, which infects one in five Zambians and is the country's biggest development challenge.
The campaign drew opposition from the Catholic Church, which has considerable influence over the lives of millions of Zambian Christians.
"The adverts are offensive and in bad taste. They suggest to children and the youth that sex is something nice to have, provided it is done with a condom," a spokesperson at the Catholic secretariat, which urged the government to withdraw the adverts, said.
Zambian Health Minister Enock Kavindele said he was aware of the complaints but the government was dealing with a grave situation that required shock therapy.
"I have told religious leaders that the prospect of preaching to empty churches is very high if we do not deal with Aids firmly. The adverts might be offensive, but we must face reality," Kavindele said.
Health education programmes across large swathes of Africa designed to prevent the spread of HIV are often undermined by lack of funding or less-than-enthusiastic government backing.
Sub-Saharan Africa is at the epicentre of the global HIV-Aids epidemic, and is home to about 70% of the 34-million people living with the disease.
Zambia alone has 520 000 Aids orphans, and the figure is expected to double in the next 14 years. - Reuters