December 15, 2011

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa/GENEVA – The coordinator of HIV and AIDS work at The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has called on the church to combat the epidemic as it once took on South Africa's apartheid system.

Rev. Dr Veikko Munyika was speaking at the opening of the LWF and Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA) consultation on "Gender and the HIV and AIDS Epidemic" being held from 12 to 15 December in Johannesburg, South Africa.

"Like apartheid and its evil consequence during those days, HIV and AIDS need to become part and parcel of our core business as church," said Munyika.

"We need to involve all church members, all church ministries and all church institutions in our response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic," he urged.

Munyika said he was concerned that the spread of HIV was out pacing the church's response to the epidemic.

"For every two people put on anti-retrovirals (ARV), five others get infected. For every one person put on life-saving drugs, two others are on the waiting list, waiting for their turn when one of those now receiving ARVs dies–like some kind of a last-in-first-out game," Munyika remarked.

The global family of Lutheran churches should mainstream HIV prevention to complement work already achieved on awareness and support, stated Munyika, coordinator of the LWF HIV and AIDS campaign at the Department for Mission and Development.

"Churches have done a lot about HIV awareness, care and support but it is also true that most of our programs have been stand-alone," Munyika commented.

When the world marks milestones in the fight against the epidemic, faith-based organizations should feel they have made a small contribution, he noted.

However, he pointed out that such achievements should not overshadow the major challenges still facing AIDS activists.

"HIV and AIDS statistics – especially in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe – are still massive. HIV will haunt us for much longer still," Munyika cautioned.

The World Health Organisation says there are 33.4 million adults with HIV globally, 22.5 million in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

The Lutheran communion must grow into an HIV and AIDS competent church, one that responds effectively to the pandemic from a Lutheran point of view, and that is able to access and properly manage available local and international resources, Munyika maintained.

"An HIV and AIDS competent church will be able to contribute to the global vision of ‘Getting to the Zero': zero new infections, zero stigma and discrimination and zero related deaths," he said.

Ms Venah Mzezewa, LUCSA HIV and AIDS program coordinator, said the gathering that brings together 55 participants comprising church leaders and representatives of Lutheran affiliated church groups wanted to help communities analyze HIV and AIDS programs.

LUCSA is one of the three LWF sub-regional bodies in Africa. All its 16 member churches have HIV and AIDS programs with either full-time or part-time workers.

"The idea is to reinforce awareness and sensitivity of participants to pertinent gender-related issues and include them in HIV and AIDS response design, planning and implementation," underlined Mzezewa.

The other objective of the meeting, Mzezewa said, was to create a communication model on HIV prevention that makes it clear that there should not be stigma attached to those who live with the infection.

"We want to improve on common responses to challenges that drive the HIV pandemic and explore prospects for participation of faith-based organizations in community mechanisms in accessing global funds," she said.

Rev. Feston Phiri of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi said the meeting was a good opportunity to respond to the call for help by communities.

Drawing on the biblical story of the blind man outside Jericho who asked Jesus to restore his sight and was told to be silent by those leading Jesus' procession, Phiri asked: "Are church leaders not behaving the same way to people living with HIV and AIDS?"

Lutheran World Information
Written for LWI by Munyaradzi Makoni