wfn.org | Taiwan's Churches Mark World AIDS Day.

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Taiwan Church News 2753, 29 November to 5 December 2004
Reported by Lin Yi-ying.  Trans. & rewritten by David Alexander

December first is world AIDS day.  The General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in Taiwan (PCT) has designated the first Sunday of December as "AIDS
Concern Sunday.' According Taiwan's Central Government's Bureau of Health
Statistics there were 5,503 HIV positive persons resident on Taiwan as of
last
March 31st.  The Church and Society Committee of the PCT's General Assembly
issued a letter asking churches to do more than just mention AIDS on December
5th.  In cooperation with the Aids Education Foundation, the church hopes
that
some deeper levels of understanding can be developed. The PCT and the
Foundation have made resources and expert speakers available to that end.
The World Health Organization proclaimed the first World Aids Day in 1988.
The
theme for 2004 is "Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS". It is a call for all nations
to emphasize the health and life of women and girls, who suffer
disproportionately from the infection. According to United Nations
statistics,
two years ago the number of HIV positive women in the world surpassed that of
HIV positive men. In sub-Saharan Africa 60% of the infected are now women.
  In Taiwan only 6.6% of the HIV positive population are women. This is among
the lowest proportions in the world. But Chiou Su-mei, Executive Secretary of
the AIDS Education Foundation, says that the threat and risk is greaterer
than
the statistics indicate. This is because many women believe themselves
unsusceptible to infection because they are faithful wives or because they
practice "safe sex". Others who are HIV positive often seek "overnight" cures
or delay treatment, which keeps reportable infections from entering the
statistical tables.
The foundation has produced a pair of video programmes in Chinese and
available on CD. They are entitled "Fighting off AIDS" and are aimed at young
people, teaching methods of protection. Ms. Chiou has also written a pamphlet
entitled "Women and AIDS."  She urges the churches to take a role in
increasing awareness of AIDS and its prevention in this society.
The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) released and distributed materials
relating to Women and AIDS for use on World AIDS day. They are available, in
English from the PCT via the world wide web.

For More Information: PCT  www.pct.org.tw
				  CCA  www.cca.org.hk
				  Chiou Su-mei www.aidscare.org.tw
Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages.
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