The crucial role of religious leaders in the HIV response

This week many of the pre-International AIDS Conference meetings are taking place in Washington DC, and hundreds of delegates from all over the world have started to arrive.

I will be attending and speaking at a general assembly meeting for the International Network of Religious Leaders living and affected by HIV which will take place over the course of two days. INERELA+ is an international, interfaith network of religious leaders – both lay and ordained, women and men – who are living with, or are personally affected by HIV.

INERELA evolved out of the African Network of Religious leaders living with HIV (ANERELA) which originated in East Africa in the early 2000s, and was founded by some of the most committed and influential people on the scene, such as Canon Gideon Byamugisha of Uganda and Rev Jape Heath originally from Namibia but based in South Africa. The key idea was to tap into the unique role and authority that religious leaders play in providing moral and ethical guidance within communities, using that to contribute in a productive way to the HIV response; their public opinions can influence entire nations. INERELA+ looks to empower its members to use their positions within their faith communities in a way that breaks the silence, challenges stigma and prejudice, and provides delivery of evidenced-based prevention, care, and treatment services.

Even as someone who works for a faith-based organisation, I still encounter many people who believe that faith leaders are more of a hindrance than a partner in the HIV response. I keep being asked if the work we are doing to help faith leaders understand the facts of HIV, and of course passing on the correct information to their congregations, is really working. I respond that we have made, and continue to make, a lot of progress.

The basic fact is that many religious leaders are vital partners in the HIV response, and dismissing them out of hand is ultimately a bad move. The sphere of influence of religious leaders on their communities continues to surge rather than diminish, particularly in Africa. In fact, the majority of religious leaders I have encountered remain engaged and want very much to be a part of the HIV solution rather than a challenge, but they are often either dismissed or not given the opportunity.

It is essential that religious leaders are perceived as fundamental partners in the fight against HIV, and are supported to do their work – in many ways, including economically – and unless they are seen as true and committed partners we will never be able to talk realistically about zero infections in communities.

INERELA+ will be discussing what they have achieved in the last decade, and what new opportunities are out there to help them to make a much bigger impact.

Winnie Ssanyu Sseruma is an Advocacy and Networks Officer for the Community Health & HIV team at Christian Aid. Winnie has also been living with HIV for almost 25 years.

Recent Posts on Health

• Make AIDS History: Keeping the promise from Gleneagles to Lough Erne
• Living with cervical cancer: 'Had I not delayed screening, it may have been a different story'
• Living with Rett Syndrome: An unconventional day out
• Christian GPs and the morning after pill: Much needed clarification
• Justin Webb on the medical advances in tackling heart disease

• VicTheBrit

  This is all well and good so long as the protestant and catholic junketeers don’t keep banging on about unrealistic measures to combat the spread of AIDS and HIV. Throwing up their hands when nothing happens does not help people…

• julianzzz

  Jesus was not a conservative, he would have embraced a person with HIV, I suspect many of today’s clergy would keep their distance and wash their hands after contact!

• fwdinsight

  I agree with a lot of these comments because the 1995 WHO and AMA figures showed over 90 million reported cases of Aids around the planet plus another 5 million reported cases annually. I emphasise reported because many can’t get to clinics plus many governments do not keep accurate statistics. So what is being mentioned here as reported will be far worse as we are now 17 years later. The Medications can only delay the final out come.
  So if the priests, ministers and Rabbis mentioned every scripture in the bible and upset everyone by doing so, the reality backs up the scriptures and it is far worse than anyone can even imagine.
  But that is not what the lobby or this meeting will want to hear. They will blame science, the hospitals, me you anyone but the fact that two cities were originally destroyed for this practice, another 6 either slid under the sea or were destroyed by volcanoes. This society is also sliding. See the Middle Eastern report to see what we are facing right now on YahwehnewsCom and I am not sure anyone has the guts to give it.

  Time after time men who gave this message and warned the societies died the most horrible deaths because it is not a popular message. But lets face it were on the edge of the worst war in history with a traffic jam of nations ships in the Middle east, plus our economies are in serious trouble. Israel is once again surrounded by Hostile nations and the Generation that saw the Fig Tree established, the generation (7o years) from 1947 when the Order went out to Establish the long prophesied Jewish state till time is nearly finished in 2017. Also the Biblical Jubilee year falls on 2017.
  Before that period the Mat 24 Blood moons and Black sun then Red moons back to back appear as signs in the heavens according to NASA on the particular days in the Hebrew calendar. This association of signs in the heaven given throughout the bible have not happened for 2000 years and will not happen for another couple of hundred years. YahwehnewsCom

• http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003058914020 Robert Guthrie

  What a crock of nonsense. Stop killing people with your witchcraft.

• fwdinsight

  Mr Guthrie just because you are not in possession of the facts it is no excuse to use the infantile adhominen approach to a discussion. It is,however an opportunity to learn about things you clearly either have no idea about or your are to bigoted to want find out about

  In a message dated 19/07/2012 09:37:44 GMT Daylight Time, notifications@disqus.net writes:

  (http://disqus.com/)

  Robert Guthrie wrote, in response to fwdinsight:
  What a crock of nonsense. Stop killing people with your witchcraft.

  _User’s website_ (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003058914020) _Link to comment_ (http://disq.us/8asl0t)

• http://www.yahoo.co.uk/ Firozali A.Mulla

  If the society wants the gays and the lesbians what do you expect
  nothing but very low morale and what is more the presidents endorse these acts
  that are binding, like it or not. I thank you Firozali A.Mulla DBA Congratulation: The civility of envy. -Ambrose
  Bierce, author and editor (1842-1914)

• UncleAxel

  ‘Facts’!? Please give just one fact for the existence of God.

• AndrewThomasHolt

  The best help would be to keep religions, particularly the RC, away from this problem.