1 December 2006
Tony Blair has given an interview to MTV to mark World Aids Day.
Read the interview
Interviewer:
World Aids Day on December 1 is a perfect opportunity for people all around the world to unite in the fight against HIV and Aids. Well today MTV has been invited to Number 10. Prime Minister, good to see you, thank you very much for your time. Let’s cut to the chase. 15 UK providers’ condoms are used around the world every second, an incredible statistic, but we both know that this is not enough, especially in the developing world. Do you plan on increasing the amount that you distribute and if so what would the ideal number be?
Prime Minister:
I don’t know that there is an ideal number, but we are spending around about £1.5 billion over the next few years in trying to fight HIV-Aids because we need, we have said by 2010 to near universal access to HIV-Aids treatment. But also, as you rightly say, it is very important that we work on prevention and we are planning to uplift already the amount of condoms that we can distribute to people, particularly in circumstances where many vulnerable people, they may be sex workers, they may be women who are in a very difficult situation, and if they don’t get that type of help, I mean there is no point in being sort of prissy about it, if they don’t get the help they end up with HIV-Aids.
Interviewer:
With the UK having higher and higher rates of young pregnancies and also STIs, what is the key to solving this problem? Is it education? If so, do the statistics reflect badly upon our education system?
Prime Minister:
No because I think on the prevalence of HIV-Aids, I think all countries similar to ours have experienced something of an uplift as different groups of people come through the country, but I think that the real key to it is education and that is about two things, it is about educating people to be responsible about sex, particularly when they are young, but it is also making sure that if people are sexually active then they are taking protection. And again as I say there is a big debate about this, the degree to which how far are you by saying to people you know take protection with you are you encouraging young people to have sex. Well maybe it is irresponsible to do that. I think there is no point in being silly about it, you should try and encourage people to be responsible but you should recognise that if people are sexually active it is better to be sexually active and responsibly so.
Interviewer:
Religion also plays a huge part. Do you think the fight against HIV and Aids would be helped if the Pope and the Vatican would relax the ban on using condoms?
Prime Minister:
I think if all the churches and religious organisations were facing up to reality it would be better, yes. And I think the danger if they are not doing so is that you get people who are sexually active and sometimes incidentally they can be so in circumstances where they may be forced into the sex trade for example, I mean that happens in certain countries. Not all countries have the same social context as we have here and the danger is that if we have a sort of blanket ban coming from religious hierarchy who say well it is wrong to do it, then you discourage people from doing it in circumstances where they need to to protect their own lives, and I think that is a shame although it is a very controversial and difficult issue.
Interviewer:
Now MTV-UK launched the Beryl (phon) Campaign this summer. We found out a lot of young girls who carry condoms feel that they give away the wrong impression, that they appear to be promiscuous. What advice would you have for young women out there who are thinking of carrying condoms with them?
Prime Minister:
Well I think that the advice is the same as I would give about education which is to exercise your sexuality in a responsible way, but if you are sexually active then do so in the way that maximises your protection and minimises the risk of contracting HIV-Aids, and I think that is the sensible thing to do.
And you know I think for most young people, if they sort of think about it then that is the right balance to have you know to recognise that this is something where you are sensible to behave in a responsible way but there can be young people that for various reasons you know are in a situation where protection is vital for them and they should make sure that they are protected.
Interviewer:
Now the question comes down to whether education plays a part alongside what parents say to their kids. You as a family man, as a father, educating your kids about the birds and the bees, it can be I am sure quite awkward for both parties. Did you do it yourself or did you leave it to Cherie?
Prime Minister:
No, we did it together in that sense. And yes of course it sometimes makes you uncomfortable and you feel difficult about it, but it is still important to do it. And actually I think most youngsters nowadays, they might be embarrassed about talking to their parents about it, but on the other hand you learn fairly quickly whether they have mastered the essentials and they know what the situation is. And I think the most important thing, you know when I was growing up it was more to do with telling youngsters about the actual act of sex, I think what it is more about now is telling them about the dangers particularly of having unprotected sex or going into situations where you may think you are safe but actually you are not, and therefore how to exercise sexuality in a responsible way.
So it is a kind of slightly different thing. I think for most of the kids when they are growing up now really from a pretty early age because of the way television is, the way films are and so on, I think they know about sex in a biological sense, I think what is more difficult sometimes is for them to realise the need not just to behave responsibly vis themselves from their own position but also what some of the dangers can be there, and that is in a way I think what today’s generation of parents spend more time trying to educate their kids about.
Interviewer:
… introduce the education at a younger age.
Prime Minister:
Well I think again you have just got to balance this and it is such a difficult area because you are going right into where some parents will feel that that is my preserve and not the state’s or the education system. But we do have sex education as part of our schooling, I think it is sensible to do that. And the most important thing I think is just trying to as I say put over the whole issue a sense of responsibility, matched with a sense of reality. You know there is no point in thinking that young people today are in the same position that they were 50 - 60 years ago, they are not and actually as my generation was growing up we weren’t compared, well I don’t know, you know you can never tell because maybe things weren’t quite like we were taught. But from the ’60s onwards you have been in a different situation and the question is how do you try and get people to address these things in a responsible way and in a realistic way, and this is the trouble because all the way through you are worried that if you are saying to people this is how to have safe sex you are saying to people therefore it is fine to have sex in any situation, whereas obviously you don’t want to say that, you want people to be responsible in respect of sex but part of being responsible is also to be realistic and that is where the business to do with respecting yourself is important I think.
Interviewer:
Thank you very much for your insight and your time.
delicious
digg
facebook
