wfn.org | WCC - church representatives at HIV/AIDS consultation in

["Sheila Mesa" <smm@wcc-coe.org>]

Africa

World Council of Churches
Update, Up-01-41
For Immediate Use
28 November 2001

"Tell them to talk freely about this disease" say church
representatives at HIV/AIDS consultation in Africa

cf. WCC Press Release, PR-01-44, of 23 November 2001

Churches, ecumenical and church-related organizations from
Africa, Europe and North America attending a 25-28 November
consultation in Nairobi, Kenya, have committed themselves to a
Plan of Action as a common and urgent response to HIV/AIDS in
Africa.  

At the consultation's closing ceremony, one of the eight
presidents of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Dr Agnes Abuom
from Kenya, said, "Today, the ecumenical family has made an
unprecedented commitment to stop the spread  of HIV in Africa,
transform the churches and condemn stigma as sin and
discrimination contrary to the will of God."  

The 120 consultation participants recognized that churches in
Africa are being obliged to acknowledge that they have, however
unwittingly, contributed to the spread of the virus.  "Our
difficulty in addressing issues of sex and sexuality have often
made it painful for us to engage in any honest and realistic way
with issues of sex education and HIV prevention," says the Plan. 
The consultation called for churches to overcome stigma and
discrimination within their own structures so that the rights and
dignity of people living with HIV/AIDS can be respected.  

The Plan of Action covers issues of support for people living
with HIV/AIDS, provision of education and current and accurate
information, training for church leaders at all levels for
"breaking the silence" on HIV/AIDS, and for counselling,
care-giving and learning from people living with and affected by
HIV/AIDS.  It commits churches and related agencies to promote
prevention, voluntary testing and counselling.  Local
congregations will be called on to care for orphans, widows and
care-givers often left destitute; to expand their outreach into
areas of life where vulnerable people are found, such as in
prisons and frontier towns.  The Plan supports those who are
campaigning for access to anti-retroviral drugs and to strengthen
the work of church-related hospitals and clinics providing care
for people living with HIV/AIDS.  

The  Plan also recommends a change of language in church
liturgies and consultations to avoid stigmatization and gender
insensitivities.  A global effort to stimulate theological and
ethical reflection and dialogue on HIV/AIDS issues will also be
launched.  

"We have felt the anguish of Africa," said Rev. Dr Sam Kobia,
director of the WCC Issues and Themes cluster, whose work
includes HIV/AIDS issues.  "Nearly 10,000 people are newly
infected each day.  We have been inspired by the courage and
dignity of people living with HIV/AIDS.  We have confessed our
silence as the church and our actions that have contributed to
the spread of the disease and death," he said.  

The Plan of Action includes a major commitment of resources both
from within Africa and from churches and agencies in the North. 

For further information, please contact Media Relations Office, 
tel:  (+41.22) 791.64.21

**********
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches,
now 342, in more than 100 countries in all continents from
virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is
not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The
highest governing body is the assembly, which meets approximately
every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general
secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Media Relations Office
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Fax: (41 22) 798 1346
E-mail: ka@wcc-coe.org 
Web: www.wcc-coe.org 

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