Although a sound approach for Coutinho, it met with substantial opposition on various fronts. Indeed, the slightest hint towards the identification of homosexuals as a risk group made them revolt; and to Coutinho's dismay the national government gave equal weight to the control of HIV and the prevention of discrimination. A chasm emerged between scientific and socio-political realities, 9 but one that could be handled within the National Committee on AIDS Control (NCAB) to which he belonged. 10 If the scientists were taken by surprise by the HIV/Aids epidemic, then the media were even more so. They desperately needed information, and Coutinho and other members of the NCAB were in a position to virtually control the coverage of HIV/ Aids (Mooij 2004, p. 21) . By doing so they also influenced policy (Coutinho 13 May 2008) , since politics, especially in those days, was very susceptible to public opinion.