THE ROLE PLAYED BY FAITH BASED ORGANISATIONS IN THE

MANAGEMENT OF THE HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC

Community and faith-based organizations have a critical role to play in the

provision of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment. They possess an
extensive geographic reach and a well-developed infrastructure in the
developing world. This, in addition to their unmatched staying power, makes
them an invaluable asset in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A

Most faith-based services at the community level focus on primary care or

support services. Some congregations have included HIV prevention and
education programs.

There are numerous examples of highly successful community-level services

organized and funded by local faith communities or by interfaith coalitions.
Their ministries include food distribution, pastoral care and counselling of
HIV/AIDS victims, shelters for homeless HIV-positive women and their
children, voluntary counselling and testing centres, training of care providers,
support groups, and AIDS education programs in schools, tertiary institutions
and other government bodies.

The Catholic Church

The position of the catholic church on the basic lines of her commitment to
combat the terrible scourge of HIV/AIDS is firstly by educating people-a
responsible practice of sexuality and by reaffirming the essential role of
marriage and the family, secondly by researching into, and application of
effective cures for HIV/AIDS and by making them available to the largest
possible number of sick people through numerous initiatives and healthcare
institutions, thirdly by human and spiritual assistance to HIV/AIDS victims and
other suffering people who have always been close to the church’s heart
"These are the areas in which the Church concentrates her
efforts, not believing that relying primarily on the greater
dissemination of condoms is, in fact, the best, most longsighted
or effective way to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS and
safeguard human life".
 “One of every four AIDS patients in the world is treated in a
catholic centre.”

"26.7% of the centres that treat people infected with HIV and affected by AIDS in the world are
Catholic-based."

"To date, we have facilitated the acquisition of anti-retrovirals for centres in 18 countries: 13 in
Africa, three in America and two in Asia."

"The funds given to these centres came from the contributions of Catholics in 19 countries, from
America, Asia, Europe and some from Africa itself."
Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán
President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers

In general Christian churches and the muslim—indeed, most faith communities

—have a comparative advantage in promoting the needed types of behaviour
change (abstinence and fidelity), since these behaviours conform to their moral,
ethical, and scriptural teachings. What the churches are inclined to do anyway
turns out to be what works best in AIDS prevention. In as much as faith based
organisations have a very important role in the management of HIV/AIDS, we
cannot ignore the negative side effects that are caused by them. I will explore
the various factors that will cause us to reflect on whether the faith based
organisations are part of the problem or a part of the solution with regards to the
effective management of HIV/AIDS.

 Various churches around the world believe in the healing power of a

supreme being (miracles), I document an example of such an incidence
where this has occurred below.
1
Joyce Chimenya, a faithful churchgoer at the Assemblies of God Church in Kanjedza
township, one of Blantyre's middle-class suburbs, believes prayer can heal any
ailment.

2
"If you believe in God you can be healed of any disease, including HIV and Aids. I
have been part of a lot of healing sessions in my church and I believe that our Lord
Jesus never fails," Chimenya told IRIN/PlusNews.

Though we cannot be entirely accurate about the effectiveness of this

approach, many believers are staunch in the healing power of this
Supreme Being and have placed complete trust (as is required so as to
obtain healing).

5
"We have seen people here getting healed and test HIV negative afterwards
 because of the power of prayer; people who do not get deliverance after being prayed
for, lack faith."
4
Fatsani (last name withheld), a congregant of the Living Waters Church, commented,
"In our church we believe in divine intervention when we are faced with any problem,
be it Aids or poverty. Yes, antiretroviral drugs are important for Aids patients, but
people need Jesus most.

 STIGMA AND THE ROLE OF LEADERS

Government as well as Religious leaders have a very strong influence,

what they say or do with regards to HIV/AIDS has a strong impact and
can cause stigma on people living with HIV/AIDS; therefore they should
learn how to control this power to positively promote the effective
management of HIV/AIDS.

A negative approach may mislead the members and a positive one may
prove to be vital.
Example of positive statements
6
"Aids patients need our support. It is unbiblical to mislead people on HIV and Aids when
many have already succumbed to the disease. As church we encourage support and
treatment for all those that have been affected," he said.

7
"Aids is not an issue that is new in the church. We are telling people that they should not
throw stones at those that are living with the virus, we have all fallen short of God's glory and
Aids patients or HIV-positive people are not sinners."

8
Justin Malewezi, Malawi's former vice-president, now chairman of the parliamentary
committee on health and of the Malawi HIV and Aids Partnership Forum, which works with
UNAids, said the issue of suffering and pain, "and the culture of blame that is evident in faith
communities" should be addressed.

"I hear so many churchmen talk about HIV and Aids as a punishment from God. This is
wrong, and contrary to the teaching of every region. Although Aids is something relatively
new in the experience of humanity, it is not a curse sent by God and it is not a punishment on
the world for evil or for promiscuity, the church should acknowledge the weakness of its
clergy and lay members. It should acknowledge that members of the faith community may be
HIV infected, but that is the reason for service and compassion ,not a reason for
condemnation."
9
Dr Lazarus Chakwera, of the Evangelical Association of Malawi, said talking openly about
Aids would be the only way to ensure that people were told the truth about it, as well as
issues pertaining to prevention and treatment.
 Example of negative statements
3
A pastor in southern Malawi recently hit the headlines when he told five HIV-positive
people in his church to stop taking antiretroviral (ARV) medication because they had
been treated by prayer.

However, some religious societies example islam frown upon the open
discussion of sexual practices and these religious constraints may greatly
hamper the prevention and campaign against the spread of HIV/AIDS. In india,
Hindu temples or priests do not offer health services or discuss "personal"
problems. Most prefer to think of Hinduism as something more personal and
that has nothing to do with HIV.

The Interfaith Declaration B

In an effort to develop an appropriate response to HIV/AIDS from the faith

community, the Council of National Religious AIDS Networks, an interfaith
coalition, came together in 1993. They developed the following statement,
portions of which were taken from The African-American Clergy's Declaration
of War on HIV/AIDS  (The Balm in Gilead Inc., 1994) and from "The Atlanta
Declaration" (AIDS National Interfaith Network, 1989). Communities are
welcome to adapt this or use it as a model. D

We are members of different faith communities called by God

to affirm a life of hope and healing in the midst of HIV/AIDS.

The enormity of the pandemic itself has compelled us to join

forces despite our differences of belief. Our traditions call us
to embody and proclaim hope, and to celebrate life and
healing in the midst of suffering.

AIDS is an affliction of the whole human family, a condition in

which we all participate. It is a scandal that many people
suffer and grieve in secret. We seek hope amidst the moral
and medical tragedies of this pandemic in order to pass on
hope for generations to come.

We recognize the fact that there have been barriers among us

based on religion, race, class, age, nationality, physical
ability, gender and sexual orientation which have generated
fear, persecution and even violence. We call upon all sectors
of our society, particularly our faith communities, to adopt as
highest priority the confrontation of racism, classism, ageism,
sexism and homophobia.
 As long as one member of the human family is afflicted, we
all suffer. In that spirit, we declare our response to the AIDS
pandemic:

1. We are called to love: God does not punish with

sickness or disease but is present together with us as
the source of our strength, courage and hope. The God
of our understanding is, in fact, greater than AIDS.
2. We are called to compassionate care: We must
assure that all who are affected by the pandemic
[regardless of religion, race, class, age, nationality,
physical ability, gender or sexual orientation] will have
access to compassionate, non-judgmental care,
respect, support and assistance.
3. We are called to witness and do justice: We are
committed to transform public attitudes and policies,
supporting the enforcement of all local and federal laws
to protect the civil liberties of all persons with AIDS and
other disabilities. We further commit to speak publicly
about AIDS prevention and compassion for all people.
4. We promote prevention: Within the context of our
respective faiths, we encourage accurate and
comprehensive information for the public regarding HIV
transmission and means of prevention. We vow to
develop comprehensive AIDS prevention programs for
our youth and adults.
5. We acknowledge that we are a global
community: The scourge of AIDS is devastating to
the world community. We recognize our responsibility
to encourage AIDS education and prevention policies,
especially in the global religious programs we support.
6. We deplore the sins of intolerance and bigotry:
AIDS is not a "gay" disease. It affects men, women and
children of all races. We reject the intolerance and
bigotry that have caused many to deflect their energy,
blame those infected, and become preoccupied with
issues of sexuality, worthiness, class status or chemical
dependency.
7. We challenge our society: Because economic
disparity and poverty are major contributing factors in
the AIDS pandemic and barriers to prevention and
treatment, we call upon all sectors of society to seek
ways of eliminating poverty in a commitment to a
future of hope and security.
8. We are committed to action: We will seek ways,
individually and within our faith communities, to
respond to the needs around us.

They thus created a platform where faith-based groups and organisations

working on global impacts of HIV and AIDS could come together and develop
strategies to engage with as well as influence the thinking and policies of
religious organisation leaders, government leaders and development institutions
e.g. World Bank, Global Fund etc to appreciate the impact of faith on people
living with, or affected by, HIV; strengthen positive effects and address
negative consequences of faith based organisations.

REFERENCES
1-9
QUATATIONS FROM www.iolhivaids.co.za
A
from USAID WEBSITE
B
FromThe American association of world health