HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa is more than an epidemic. It pervades all aspects of life and exacerbates all current social and economic ills. Abject poverty, lack of employment, famine, poor health care and education are just a few of the intractable identifiers of this region.
Here are some facts on sub-Saharan Africa (source 2004 UNAIDS summary report)
- With just over 10% of the world’s population it is home to 64% of HIV cases world-wide (25.4 MM people)
- 74% of all deaths from AIDS in 2004 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (2.3 MM) and 63% of all new cases of HIV (3.1 MM)
- HIV/AIDS has created 13 MM orphans in Africa [over the course of the disease] Systemic poverty, scarcity of sex education and HIV testing, ignorance, and cultural taboos breed behaviors that have led to this HIV/AIDS scourge
- A migratory labor system forces men to work in cities far from their homes where they often seek other partners. In a male dominated culture, it is simply taboo for women to question their husbands on sex, much less HIV/AIDS. Women also account for the spread of HIV by using sex as a “survival” tactic in exchange for money or other goods and services. By far the most tragic incidence of HIV, however, is through the mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy, childbirth and breast-feeding.
Hope for Africa
Education, basic health care, testing and drug therapies all offer hope for Africa, but the greatest hope lies in empowering the Church to grow, train pastors and recruit volunteers to teach God’s great gift of redemption hand in hand with HIV/AIDS prevention programs. In Uganda, as an example, the prevalence of HIV has dropped from 12% to 4.1% in recent years, primarily because churches were on the frontline of a movement to promote abstinence for youth and faithfulness in marriage programs. In Rwanda, similar church programs are also beginning to realize significant impact in the lives of many of its people.
When asked what the most important work religious organizations can do in the next two years, UNAIDS, a leading HIV/AIDS organization states:
“…take a stand against stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV, help communities eradicate such stigma and discrimination, and mobilize communities in HIV prevention and care efforts. They can also de-emphasize labeling or blaming that lead to stigma and discrimination, and emphasize openness, acceptance, reconciliation, compassion and action: within individuals, between individuals, within communities and between communities.”
Through partnering with World Relief, God has indeed provided us a means to combat ignorance, provide education and prevention programs, and empower the local churches to truly be the hands and feet of Jesus in the hurting world of Malawi.
