The controversy over whether sexual abstinence or condoms are more effective in the fight against Aids erupted at a major conference today.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni brought the issue, which has set many Aids activists at odds with Washington, into the open at the global Aids conference by saying abstinence, favoured by the Bush administration, was the best way to stem the spread of the killer virus.
The remarks by Mr Museveni, whose country is a rare success story in Africa's war on Aids, were at odds with health experts who back condoms as a frontline defence against the incurable disease.
"I look at condoms as an improvisation, not a solution," Mr Museveni told delegates on the second day of the 15th International Aids Conference in Bangkok.
Instead, he called for "optimal relationships based on love and trust instead of institutionalised mistrust which is what the condom is all about".
Uganda's "ABC" method (Abstinence, Being faithful and Condoms) is a model for Bush administration's Aids policies which are under fire at the conference for advocating sexual abstinence to stem infection.
The smaller US delegation, which the United States says reflects a desire to cut costs, at this year's conference is seen partly as a sign of Washington's displeasure that its approach appears to have had little influence on the agenda.
US Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the only member of Congress to attend the week-long meeting, accused the Bush administration of using ideology, not science, to dictate policy.
"In an age where five million people are newly infected each year and women and girls too often do not have the choice to abstain, an abstinence-until-marriage programme is not only irresponsible, it's really inhumane," Ms Lee said.
"Abstaining from sex is often not a choice, and therefore their only hope in preventing HIV infection is the use of condoms," she added.