Church Community Breaks Stigma Barriers on AIDS
New reports have shown a decrease in adult HIV infection rates in certain countries yet overall trends in HIV transmission are still on the rise and far greater HIV prevention efforts are needed to slow the epidemic, according to the United Nations
New reports have shown a decrease in adult HIV infection rates in certain countries yet overall trends in HIV transmission are still on the rise and far greater HIV prevention efforts are needed to slow the epidemic, according to the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Such efforts are increasing as the Christian community largely contributes to the coordinated global action on the AIDS crisis. World AIDS Day, observed each year on the first of December and now in its 18th year, has increasingly drawn support and active participation from churches and Christian campuses. The stigma of AIDS that has blocked much of the Christian community from helping the millions of victims both directly and indirectly impacted by the epidemic has begun to disintegrate under compassion and a clearer understanding of the disease.
World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, took note of the initial lack of response of the church as AIDS was attributed to the "moral failings of man." However, stigma barriers have increasingly crumbled down.
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"The church is breaking down those barriers and leading the way in AIDS education and prevention," said a statement by World Relief.
A recent meeting with the Association of Evangelical Relief and Development Organization (AERDO)'s committee on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programs drew attention to exceeded expectations of church participation in the global AIDS effort.
Working with local churches, World Relief has also seen a greater willingness among its native partner groups though its own HIV/AIDS program called Mobilizing Youth for Life.
"The organization has experienced a strong willingness among churches in Africa, Asia and the Americas to embrace the behavior changing message and share it with their communities," World Relief reported.
Mobilizing for Life equips churches and trains local believers to reach out to the suffering. World Relief is working through the churches to provide employment opportunities and counseling for AIDS sufferers as well as training families to care for sick relatives at home, according to the humanitarian group. Churches are also educating people about the dangers of promiscuity and the spread of the virus.
In Balang, Cambodia, church leaders and congregants closely associated with people who live with AIDS for the first time. Through the Christian Response to HIV/AIDS project, 54 pastors and church members from some 20 rural villages were brought alongside 10 people who were infected with AIDS. The day-long experience of even sharing a meal helped the church community overcome what they had initially characterized and helped them to gain a new understanding.
