HealthGlobal: AIDS/HIV: Three newsbriefs on church aid to AIDS victims

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Ecumenical News International newsletter (December1,2k11)
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Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
1 December 2011

Religious leaders encourage deeper engagement on AIDS

Toronto (ENInews)--Leaders from five world religions gathered in Toronto just ahead of World AIDS Day on 1 December to encourage their peers to deepen their engagement and action on HIV-AIDS "by addressing the difficult issues raised by the pandemic, in dialogue with people living with HIV." At the same time, the faith leaders expressed "dismay at the recent drop in funding for the AIDS response just as recent statistics show the effectiveness of prevention and treatment approaches." [ENI-11-0659, 685 words]


Protestants and Catholics in Berlin assist HIV/AIDS patients

Berlin (ENInews) — For Christians diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, fear of a lack of acceptance from the church community can be a very real concern. But for HIV positive Christians in Berlin, projects run by both Catholics and Protestants are providing a network of community support in which they know they will not be judged. Pastor Dorothea Strauss set up Church HIV Positive, an ecumenical initiative that provides pastoral care for those with HIV and AIDS and their families, in 1993. The experience of a friend and fellow pastor dying from AIDS-related illness was part of the motivation for the project. [ENI-11-0660, 599 words]


Russian government turns to church for help fighting AIDS epidemic

Moscow (ENInews) — As the number of people suffering from HIV/AIDS continues to grow in Russia, government agencies are turning to the Russian Orthodox Church for help in stemming the epidemic, ministering to its victims, and fighting their stigmatization by society. In the latest example of such cooperation, officials in the Ryazan region, about 120 miles southeast of Moscow, announced on 30 November that they have requested the local diocese's assistance in providing an approach to the crisis that is beyond the state's capacity. [ENI-11-0661, 597 words]

AIDS: Calendar: World AIDS Day

Today is world AIDS day.  And as it draws to a close, I notice that I honoured the day by watching a TV Special on President George W. Bush's f+t against world AIDS by concentrating on mass action in Africa, making a dent and serving as a model.  Credit where credit's due.

More largely, it's wonderful to see President Obama keeping up the W's standard, and surpassing it.

So, what do I say in closing?  Happy World AIDS Day?

Let's tr+ some thawts of South Africa's Tutu:

Mobilise for HIV prevention, Tutu says on World AIDS Day

Geneva (ENInews). Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, has issued a call to world leaders to take action to accelerate a decline in new HIV infections through activism that promotes prevention measures. "HIV prevention activism is indispensable to overcome the epidemic," said Tutu, the former leader of South Africa's Anglicans in a statement to mark World AIDS Day on 1 December. "Communities must receive the support and encouragement they need to mobilise against the epidemic with courage and fearless commitment." Tutu is a co-chair of the UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention alongside Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, a French virologist. A declaration released by the co-chairs warned that ebbing financial investments, lack of political commitment and ineffective prevention priorities are challenging progress in achieving significant decline in new HIV infections. [532 words, ENI-10-0785]

--Politicarp