REACH OUT TO PEOPLE LIVING WITH AIDS
THE Programmes Director of the Lutheran Church in Liberia, Reverend Moses B. Gobbah, has called on faith-based organisations (FBOs) to play a vital role in reaching communities infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
He said FBOs must be instrumental in convincing political leaders at the national, regional and local levels to prioritise the needs of affected populations.
He said tackling the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa was a long-term task that required sustained efforts and the commitment of all sectors in providing care and treatment for people infected and affected by the disease.
“Due to the inherent mandate of compassion, FBOs are in an excellent position to mobilise volunteers and provide spiritual, physical and emotional care for people living with HIV,” he noted.
Rev Gobbah made the call at a seminar organised by the Lutheran Communion in Central and Western Africa (LUCCWA) to discuss the need to integrate HIV/AIDS discussions in theological education.
He said the issues surrounding HIV and AIDS were far from being simply medical or clinical concerns, adding, “They affect and are affected by cultural norms and practices, socio-economic conditions, development issues and sexuality.”
He, therefore, called on churches, especially the leaders, to get more involved in raising awareness of the effects of HIV on society by having pre-marital, marital and various group counselling sessions.
He, however, noted that HIV/AIDS discussions in the church would be challenging due to the stigma attached to the disease.
Rev Gobbah was, however, optimistic that if the church joined hands with the world-wide effort to provide care and support in order to reduce vulnerability to HIV and alleviate its impact, the church would be able to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS on society.
The UNAIDS 2010 Global Report estimated that 22.5 million Africans were living with the HIV virus, which was about two thirds of the global total.
It also stated that in 2009 about 1.3 million people died from AIDS, with about 1.8 million people being infected and 14.8 million children losing one or both parents to HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the report, the annual number of new HIV infections had steadily declined since the late 1990s and there were fewer aids related deaths as a result of the significant scale up of anti-retroviral therapy over the past few years.
The UNAIDS 2010 Report noted commendable success in sub-Saharan Africa, including a decline in the incidence of HIV infections by more than 25 per cent in 22 countries on the continent since the peak of the epidemic in the mid 1990s, as well as reduced HIV mortality.
Rev Peter Bartimawus of the Lutheran Church of Christ, Nigeria, also mentioned the importance of prioritising HIV/AIDS discussions in the church.
He said the youth were the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infections, hence the need to sensitise them by utilising all the available avenues, such as youth fellowship groups, women’s and men’s fellowship groups, provided by the church.
He noted that some of the challenges facing the church in HIV/AIDS discussions concerned tradition, culture, ignorance and the stigma that society had attached to the disease.
He said FBOs must be instrumental in convincing political leaders at the national, regional and local levels to prioritise the needs of affected populations.
He said tackling the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa was a long-term task that required sustained efforts and the commitment of all sectors in providing care and treatment for people infected and affected by the disease.
“Due to the inherent mandate of compassion, FBOs are in an excellent position to mobilise volunteers and provide spiritual, physical and emotional care for people living with HIV,” he noted.
Rev Gobbah made the call at a seminar organised by the Lutheran Communion in Central and Western Africa (LUCCWA) to discuss the need to integrate HIV/AIDS discussions in theological education.
He said the issues surrounding HIV and AIDS were far from being simply medical or clinical concerns, adding, “They affect and are affected by cultural norms and practices, socio-economic conditions, development issues and sexuality.”
He, therefore, called on churches, especially the leaders, to get more involved in raising awareness of the effects of HIV on society by having pre-marital, marital and various group counselling sessions.
He, however, noted that HIV/AIDS discussions in the church would be challenging due to the stigma attached to the disease.
Rev Gobbah was, however, optimistic that if the church joined hands with the world-wide effort to provide care and support in order to reduce vulnerability to HIV and alleviate its impact, the church would be able to mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS on society.
The UNAIDS 2010 Global Report estimated that 22.5 million Africans were living with the HIV virus, which was about two thirds of the global total.
It also stated that in 2009 about 1.3 million people died from AIDS, with about 1.8 million people being infected and 14.8 million children losing one or both parents to HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the report, the annual number of new HIV infections had steadily declined since the late 1990s and there were fewer aids related deaths as a result of the significant scale up of anti-retroviral therapy over the past few years.
The UNAIDS 2010 Report noted commendable success in sub-Saharan Africa, including a decline in the incidence of HIV infections by more than 25 per cent in 22 countries on the continent since the peak of the epidemic in the mid 1990s, as well as reduced HIV mortality.
Rev Peter Bartimawus of the Lutheran Church of Christ, Nigeria, also mentioned the importance of prioritising HIV/AIDS discussions in the church.
He said the youth were the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infections, hence the need to sensitise them by utilising all the available avenues, such as youth fellowship groups, women’s and men’s fellowship groups, provided by the church.
He noted that some of the challenges facing the church in HIV/AIDS discussions concerned tradition, culture, ignorance and the stigma that society had attached to the disease.
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