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AIDS 2006:
FA IT H
in
ACTION
Promises have
been made that
Faith-based delegates demonstrate at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.
give people
The AIDS pandemic breaks down barriers hope. ... These
by Claudia Carthaus words must be
Only four years earlier at the International of civil society at the UNGASS meeting in put into action.
AIDS Conference in Barcelona, faith groups June. This was not an easy task due to the Linda Hartke, Ecumenical
were marginalized and only beginning to history of culture clashes between the faith Advocacy Alliance
mobilize resources, said Dr. Peter Piot, community and the United Nations, he said.
executive director, UNAIDS. He noted that
the Bangkok conference in 2004 was a turning Now the work is to figure out how to imple- Issue no. 1
point where efforts really began to grow. ment solutions for the generations to come, Aug. 13, 2006
Piot said. He said that no technology is go-
Daily news and views on religious
Looking forward to long-term strategies in ing to fix the pandemic; it is going to take responses to HIV and AIDS
HIV and AIDS solutions, Piot joined the social change by addressing social injustice. at the 16th International AIDS
Most Rev. Gunnar Stlsett, Bishop Emeritus To date the global response has been haphaz- Conference, Toronto, Canada. For
of Oslo, in opening the interfaith pre-confer- ard, acting in crisis mode. The time is now to more information and articles visit
www.e-alliance.ch/iac_2006.jsp
ence, Aug. 12, on the eve of the 2006 Inter- develop long-term sustainable strategies, he
national AIDS Conference. An ecumenical said. Now is the time to focus on a common
pre-conference was held Aug. 10-11. purpose: saving lives and defeating AIDS.
Visit http://iac.e-alliance.ch/ for full stories (site includes articles in (continued from page 1)
French, Spanish and German) the AIDS pandemic. All religions have
Visit http://iac.e-alliance.ch/gallery for photos ethical stories that can be referenced by
faith-based coalitions as models of in-
spiration, he said.
Develop plans to prevent HIV
Too little for children, 25 transmission after natural The crisis has brought us together. The
years on disasters, churches told AIDS pandemic is bringing every faith
The next generation needs Natural disasters can leave together, and it shall ignite a new era in
prevention, treatment and care now pockets of the population more vulner- religious history, Stlsett stated.
to block the spread of HIV into able to HIV. Prevention must be part of
the future. emergency response. Although a tragedy, the AIDS pan-
demic has actually been a blessing in
disguise as it has helped break down
For women, it is not as Theology is slowing churches boundaries and barriers, between reli-
simple as ABC response to HIV and AIDS gions, in order to serve, Stlsett said.
The impact of HIV and AIDS Does the church have to aban- He suggested that the faith community
on women ties into their social, po- don all its morals? We have a call to now needs to move from dialogue to
litical and economic circumstances. make the love of God a real and tan- practice through cooperation, coordi-
ABC is a black-and-white approach in gible presence today. nation and unity of purpose.
a grey world.
Page 2
Global network of religious leaders to
be launched by Elly Wamari
The International Network of Religious experienced a dramatic growth from CHECK IT OUT
Leaders Living with or Personally Af- only three people to an active network
fected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA+) with more than 1,500 members and re-
will be officially unveiled Aug. 16 at the gional representation in 13 countries
XVI International AIDS Conference. across the continent. Interfaith prayer room
Sun. Aug. 13; 13:00-21:00
INERELA+ arises from a growing As we grew in Africa, we became Mon. Aug. 14 - Thurs. Aug. 17;
need of a global platform for religious increasingly aware of religious lead- 08:00-19:00
leaders living with or personally af- ers around the world, who were in the Fri. Aug. 18; 08:00-14:00
fected by HIV and AIDS to coordinate same position we were in, Heath said.
activity for eliminating stigma and dis- Later, there were open calls for us to North Building, Room 103A
crimination, said the Rev. Jap Heath. expand this concept more broadly than
Page 3
Faith in action: Keeping the promise
by Frank Imhoff
Keeping promises is an attribute of faith that can and must People of faith from all religions need to discern their com-
be applied as people respond to HIV and AIDS and their mon values and join hands for this common endeavor, to
many related issues. Speakers challenged the 500 partici- eliminate stigma and discrimination, to stop the further
pants of the ecumenical and interfaith pre-conferences, spread of HIV and to provide compassionate, non-judgmen-
Faith in Action: Keeping the Promise, to assess their tal care, support and treatment for all those affected by the
own work while advocating for people living with HIV and pandemic. Father Alex Vadakumthala, Catholic Bishops
AIDS. Conference of India, New Delhi
If our generation does not step up to the plate and recog- I publicly promise to stand in solidarity with you and let
nize and act on the fact that we are sisters and brothers to the commitments made here and articulated here shape my
all who suffer, then we risk the loss of more than fortune, leadership and my rhetoric. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Lu-
culture and a way of life. We risk having our very human theran World Federation and Evangelical Lutheran Church
identity slip between our fingers. Sister Patricia Talone, in America, Chicago, USA
Catholic Health Association, St. Louis, USA
We are responding to Tim and Freds lives. Bishop
We, the faith communities, are the people who are called by Albert Frederick Mutti, United Methodist Church, Kansas
God to be the caregivers, the hands, the heart, the ears, the City, Missouri, USA, shared his experiences and those of
eyes, the feet of God in the world. The Rev. Jap Heath, his wife, Etta Mae, as two of their sons died of AIDS-related
African Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Per- illnesses. Through the Global AIDS Fund, the couple is
sonally Affected by HIV and AIDS (ANERELA+), Johan- working to keep their churchs promise and their personal
nesburg, South Africa promise.
Faith leaders should actively involve people living with HIV Before I was HIV positive, I stigmatized. I know that I can
in developing workplace policies, liturgies or working to say that the stigmatizer does not know when they are stig-
launch initiatives to tackle AIDS. Andy Seale, Joint Unit- matizing. The Rev. Patricia Sawo, ANERELA+, Kitale,
ed Nations Programme for HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) Kenya, focused on the promise many churches have made to
do away with the stigma and discrimination linked to HIV
Davids biblical response to Goliath is like the response to and AIDS.
HIV and AIDS. God has already provided the resources,
and people of faith must reconfigure the battlefield and use
those resources to slay the giant. The Rev. Adam Taylor,
Sojourners, Washington, D.C.
Ecumenical Advocacy Views expressed in this bulletin are not necessarily those of the
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance.
Alliance
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Switzerland
The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance is a broad international network of churches and
Christian organizations cooperating in advocacy on global trade and HIV and AIDS.
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+ 41 22 710 2387
info@e-alliance.ch Cover photo Jedrzej Chelminski/EAA, remaining photos Melissa Engle/EAA
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