Church Is Fighting AIDS in Mozambique by Fighting Cultural Barriers
Cultural differences have prevented the people from understanding AIDS as organizations distribute condoms, but churches are fighting back with the Word of God.
United Methodist Bishop Joao Somane Machado said, after the civil war ended in 1992, Mozambique began to trade with Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia and Malawi. “Those countries depend on our Indian Ocean to export and import, but the trade corridors also opened the door for HIV/AIDS to invade the country.”
Some statistics of AIDS in Mozambique are the death of 110,000 people, 470,000 children orphans and increase at a rate of 520 new victims every day, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
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Although many countries have donated sums of money, the statistics show that the rate of AIDS has only gone up. “We have many, many organizations from outside of the country trying to come here to help us with this issue,” Machado says.
“But the number of AIDS cases is going up, not down. This is because they come with a system used somewhere else; they don’t come and study the culture of Mozambique.”
The first thing many of those organizations want to do is distribute condoms, he says. Franca, a nurse in Mozambique said, “If you look at the statistics, you would be tempted to say the more condoms are used, the more people are infected.”
First of all, the people accept that AIDS is a disease, Machado says. He says people think it’s because of sorcery.
“They don’t accept. They said, ‘No, no, no. We know who killed him.’”
Also, the disease spreads from husband to wife when men have no choice but to work in South African mines and are away from home for as long as 18 months, Machado explains (UMNS). “Wives can’t say no to their husband when he comes back, even when he is sick,” Machado says.
Thus, when groups from Europe and the United States educate the people about HIV/AIDS in their methods, it has no effect. Therefore, the United Methodist Church in Mozambique with a membership of 160,000 is working to overcome the cultural barriers.
JustaPaz is a center for the study and transformation of conflict, and the Christian Council of Mozambique train church leaders to educate the people about HIV/AIDS, Machado says.
Machado told UMNS in an interview that before conversations and seminars were held, many churches were teaching that HIV/AIDS “was a punishment from God.”
“After many discussions with the Christian Council, they now understand that this is a simple disease that we need to deal with. We need to love the people.”
Christians and AIDS: A Theological/Biblical Reflection in the Face of HIV/AIDS is a Bible study developed by the center with the cooperation of all the Christian denominations in Mozambique.
The booklet is the first of its kind to overcome cultural barriers, and it quotes the Scriptures, reminding people that Jesus cared for the lepers.
This biblical approach helps pastors speak from the pulpit to raise awareness and erase the stigma associated with the disease, she says (UMNS).
“The word of pastors in Mozambique is more respected than the word of politicians because of what we did bringing peace in Mozambique,” Machado says. “They know the message of the church is true.”
