Christian Aid offers fresh approach to HIV at global AIDs gathering
-14/08/06
The sixt
Christian Aid offers fresh approach to HIV at global AIDs gathering
-14/08/06
The sixteenth international AIDS conference began in Toronto yesterday (Sunday 13 August 2006) amid mixed expectations from health practitioners, development campaigner and concerned faith groups. Its theme of ëTime to deliverí highlights the urgent need for the rapid delivery of HIV prevention and treatment services.
Reports from Christian Aid indicated that the gathering ìopened with the usual array of politicians, philanthropists and show biz personalities.î But behind the glitz, say church organizations, lurks a deadly epidemic which has killed 25 million people over the past 25 years.
In spite of progress especially in the field of antiretroviral therapy, 20 million people have become infected in the last decade. This underscores the need to build effective health systems in developing countries, says UK-based Christian Aid.
It also illustrates the ongoing need for comprehensive HIV prevention programmes. The knowledge and the tools to prevent new infections and prolong life already exist. The challenge is to make sure that HIV treatment and prevention programmes are available to all who need them, even in the poorest settings.
Many in the HIV field say the 25th anniversary of the epidemic marks a new stage for HIV – the realisation that this is a long-term epidemic, that there will be no quick fixes. They say HIV may have reached the point where it will soon be categorised as just another chronic disease of the developing world. And this has lead to fears that HIV will no longer be viewed as an exceptionable disease, which requires exceptional funds and commitment.
ìIt is deeply worrying that HIV has reached this point,î says Dr Rachel Baggaley, head of Christian Aidís HIV work. ìLast yearís huge focus on Africa, which was so encouraging, seems to have disappeared. If governments do not understand that they must deliver on their financial pledges we will never be able to overcome this epidemic.î
Some 4,500 reports will be presented at the conference. Christian Aid will present its new SAVE approach to HIV prevention. Other faith-based agencies have reports on the specific role of faith organisations in the fight against HIV. Many will be sharing their experiences of dealing with the disease in post-conflict countries.
Christian Aid partner ANERELA+ (the African Network of Religious Leaders Living with or personally affected by HIV and AIDS) has developed the new model for a comprehensive HIV response. SAVE stands for:
ï Safer practices
ï Available medications
ï Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT)
ï Empowerment.
A Christian Aid photo exhibition is on display in the conference centre. ëLife Interruptedí is a series of photographs by the award-winning photojournalist, Don McCullin. The photographer is a close collaborator with Christian Aid and in this exhibition he focused on the difference that antiretroviral treatment has made in the lives of HIV-positive people.
The opening of the conference has inevitably been overshadowed by events in the Middle East and terror alerts in the UK. Said Christian Aid today: ìIt is sobering to remember that while there was talk of thousands of deaths in a terrorist act, eight thousand die each day of HIV related diseases.î
[Also on Ekklesia: United Church of Canada issues bold action call on HIV-AIDS 11/08/06; Faith groups mobilize for global push against AIDS and HIV 08/08/06; Churches sign AIDS code; Flower power deals a fresh blow to HIV-AIDS; Cardinal calls for reduction in price of AIDS medicines; Churches face up to world AIDS pandemic; HIV+ African priest looks to AIDS-free world by 2025; Priests resist condom use in HIV-hit Tanzania; Christian-owned company produces cheap AIDS drugs; US church leader urges action not obstruction on AIDS; The Body of Christ has AIDS, say Methodists; Religious right thwarted AIDS meeting, say NGOs]
Christian Aid offers fresh approach to HIV at global AIDs gathering
-14/08/06
The sixteenth international AIDS conference began in Toronto yesterday (Sunday 13 August 2006) amid mixed expectations from health practitioners, development campaigner and concerned faith groups. Its theme of ëTime to deliverí highlights the urgent need for the rapid delivery of HIV prevention and treatment services.
Reports from Christian Aid indicated that the gathering ìopened with the usual array of politicians, philanthropists and show biz personalities.î But behind the glitz, say church organizations, lurks a deadly epidemic which has killed 25 million people over the past 25 years.
In spite of progress especially in the field of antiretroviral therapy, 20 million people have become infected in the last decade. This underscores the need to build effective health systems in developing countries, says UK-based Christian Aid.
It also illustrates the ongoing need for comprehensive HIV prevention programmes. The knowledge and the tools to prevent new infections and prolong life already exist. The challenge is to make sure that HIV treatment and prevention programmes are available to all who need them, even in the poorest settings.
Many in the HIV field say the 25th anniversary of the epidemic marks a new stage for HIV – the realisation that this is a long-term epidemic, that there will be no quick fixes. They say HIV may have reached the point where it will soon be categorised as just another chronic disease of the developing world. And this has lead to fears that HIV will no longer be viewed as an exceptionable disease, which requires exceptional funds and commitment.
ìIt is deeply worrying that HIV has reached this point,î says Dr Rachel Baggaley, head of Christian Aidís HIV work. ìLast yearís huge focus on Africa, which was so encouraging, seems to have disappeared. If governments do not understand that they must deliver on their financial pledges we will never be able to overcome this epidemic.î
Some 4,500 reports will be presented at the conference. Christian Aid will present its new SAVE approach to HIV prevention. Other faith-based agencies have reports on the specific role of faith organisations in the fight against HIV. Many will be sharing their experiences of dealing with the disease in post-conflict countries.
Christian Aid partner ANERELA+ (the African Network of Religious Leaders Living with or personally affected by HIV and AIDS) has developed the new model for a comprehensive HIV response. SAVE stands for:
ï Safer practices
ï Available medications
ï Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT)
ï Empowerment.
A Christian Aid photo exhibition is on display in the conference centre. ëLife Interruptedí is a series of photographs by the award-winning photojournalist, Don McCullin. The photographer is a close collaborator with Christian Aid and in this exhibition he focused on the difference that antiretroviral treatment has made in the lives of HIV-positive people.
The opening of the conference has inevitably been overshadowed by events in the Middle East and terror alerts in the UK. Said Christian Aid today: ìIt is sobering to remember that while there was talk of thousands of deaths in a terrorist act, eight thousand die each day of HIV related diseases.î
[Also on Ekklesia: United Church of Canada issues bold action call on HIV-AIDS 11/08/06; Faith groups mobilize for global push against AIDS and HIV 08/08/06; Churches sign AIDS code; Flower power deals a fresh blow to HIV-AIDS; Cardinal calls for reduction in price of AIDS medicines; Churches face up to world AIDS pandemic; HIV+ African priest looks to AIDS-free world by 2025; Priests resist condom use in HIV-hit Tanzania; Christian-owned company produces cheap AIDS drugs; US church leader urges action not obstruction on AIDS; The Body of Christ has AIDS, say Methodists; Religious right thwarted AIDS meeting, say NGOs]