wfn.org | ACNS3684 National HIV/AIDS Strategic Planning and Policy

["Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>]

ACNS 3684     |     NIGERIA	|     24 NOVEMBER 2003 

National HIV/AIDS Strategic Planning and Policy Development Workshop
held in Nigeria

[ACNS source: Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)] We, Bishops,
clergy and members of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) drawn
from all the ten ecclesiastical Provinces across the country, met in
Abuja from 10 to 14 November 2003 to draw up a strategic plan of how our
church will respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Nigeria.

We would like to record our sincere appreciation to the Action Aid
(Nigeria), Christian Aid and the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa
(CAPA) who have funded this workshop to develop the Church of Nigeria
Strategic Plan and Policy Development document.

We believe that as a church, following the footsteps and example of our
Lord Jesus Christ, we are well suited to give hope to a hurting world in
the face of HIV/AIDS. Our theme hence was: "A caring church in a hurting
world."

Our four-day meeting was officially opened by His Grace the Archbishop
and Primate of All Nigeria, the Most Revd Peter Akinola, who challenged
us to uphold Biblical teaching as the surest way of stemming new HIV
infections.

We have during our workshop focused on the six-fold response to AIDS,
which has been developed and adopted by the Anglican Communion through
the All Africa AIDS Planning Framework. The six core areas of our
response include: prevention, counselling, pastoral care, care and
support, death and dying and leadership.

We have together developed our HIV/AIDS vision which is "a caring church
committed to preservation of life by preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS
and caring for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS."

As a caring church living by the example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ our mission is to prevent and control the spread of HIV/AIDS and
to offer support to people living with and affected by HIV and strive
towards having a future generation that will be born and live in a world
free from AIDS. 

To achieve our vision and mission we have set out the following policy
guidelines that will guide our response as a church in addressing
HIV/AIDS.

Prevention:

* The church will encourage sexual abstinence for the unmarried and
mutual fidelity among married couples. 
* The church shall set aside a week within the year as a HIV/AIDS
awareness week. 
* The church shall carry out AIDS awareness and sensitisation
specifically targeting the adolescents. 

Care and Support:

* The Church of Nigeria (AC) shall be HIV/AIDS friendly and shall ensure
greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS in all aspects of
church ministry. 
* The church shall encourage the establishment of home-based care
services to cater for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and people
affected by AIDS (PABA) in our churches and communities. 

Leadership:

* The church leadership shall play a leading role in advocating for
elimination of harmful traditional practices that predispose people to
contracting HIV. 
* The church shall advocate for the fundamental human rights of people
living with and personally affected by HIV/AIDS i.e. access to health
services, employment, education, housing etc. 
* The Church of Nigeria (AC) shall set up an appropriate structure for
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the HIV/AIDS programme. 

Pastoral Care:

* The church shall ensure that all its clergy are sensitised,
knowledgeable and well informed to share accurate information about
HIV/AIDS. 
* The church shall incorporate HIV/AIDS into the curriculum of all its
seminaries, theological colleges and mission schools. 
* The church is committed to further theological reflection on issues
pertaining to HIV/AIDS. 

Counselling:

* The church shall encourage Voluntary Confidential Counselling &
Testing (VCCT) and the setting up of support and referral networks with
the government and agencies that share the same vision. 
* Through Christian counselling, the Church of Nigeria (Anglican
Communion) shall reinforce the adherence of Christian family values. 

Death and Dying:

* The Church of Nigeria (AC) shall encourage its members to write wills
and preserve resources for those living on. 
* Bishops and pastors shall take a lead in discouraging expensive
funeral ceremonies and modify rituals to still honour the dead. 

The above policies will be implemented systematically and in a concerted
way throughout the Anglican Communion in Nigeria and we believe will
receive the support of all the members of our Church. 

CONCLUSION 

The participants have undertaken to carry out activities in their
dioceses with the existing human and material resources to mitigate the
impact of the pandemic in their parishes and communities. Immediate
actions will include pulpit ministry, peer education, skills building
workshops and seminars for youth, women groups, fathers associations and
pastors.

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