People from the main world religions have promised to prevent HIV stigma, in a public declaration, welcomed by a senior U.N. official, as a sea change in attitudes.
40 Personal Pledges
Representatives of some 40 religions and faith groups including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, ended a two-day event in the Netherlands by signing a “Personal Commitment to Action.”
Each vowed to “be clear in my words and actions that stigma and discrimination towards people living with or affected by HIV is unacceptable.”
Canon Gideon Byamugisha, an Anglican priest from Uganda, said the way his church treated him after he discovered he had HIV should be an example. “They reacted with support and understanding. There were sections who were annoyed and disappointed I was HIV positive, but a big number opted to give me the love, care and support I needed.”
www.ccow.org.uk/blog/an_inspiring_evening_wit…
Byamugisha’s first wife died with HIV and he has now remarried – a woman with HIV. He told church officials in 1992 that he had HIV and was one of the first African clerics to reveal he has HIV.
UN welcomes Religions’ Promises
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, the United Nations Population Fund’s executive director, called Tuesday’s statement;
“a sea change, there is no talk about sinning or repentance,” she said.
“It is more about Acceptance of People Living with HIV.”
Remorse and Regret
The delegates acknowledged that some church and faith groups had played an active role in the stigmatisation they now have committed to end.
“With remorse we regret that those living with HIV have at times been at the receiving end of judgment, rejection … ,” they wrote in a statement.
“We need to make greater efforts to ensure that all people living with HIV find a welcome within faith communities.”
The statement came after two days of discussions in which Byamugisha said that delegates sometimes struggled “with how to balance between communicating the religious messages that talk about morality and spirituality (and) public health challenges on the ground.”
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Rev. Richard Fee of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, which helped organise the meeting, said that religious groups can now join the front line in challenging HIV.
“If we are going to deal with this pandemic, the way we are going to get the message to every village in the world through education is through faith-based groups which do touch every village in the world,” he said.
Associated Press 2010
