PACSA confronts HIV/AIDS, gender issues and poverty

The Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian Social Awareness (PACSA) held a Conference in February 2004 focusing on community-based experiences of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its two most prominent cross-cutting challenges: gender inequality and poverty. Practitioners from various sectors shared their lessons around their work in these areas, both professionally and personally, and the gathering agreed to intensify a call from civil society for stronger partnerships between FBOs and national as well as local government structures.

All the presentations were impressive. One in particular, given by Sister Florina Ncgobo, outlined the comprehensive range of services offered by the Edendale HIV/AIDS Drop-in Centre to assist infected and affected communities. This includes:

? regular medical check-ups, treatment, nutritional guidance and hygiene awareness for opportunistic infections
? home-based care and income-generation promotion in communities
? facilitating support for orphans, child-headed households and other vulnerable children in terms of schooling and shelter
? psycho-social support to provide a sense of hope and decrease the fear, loneliness and stress associated with HIV infection and illness
? ongoing individual counselling along with co-ordination of support groups and workshops for social workers, FBOs and staff at schools.

The key conclusions drawn from the sessions centred on the need to draw more men into the problem of women?s vulnerability to HIV and AIDS, the importance of networking to secure resources and to avoid duplicating efforts, the provision of accurate awareness information and the allocation funds to where they are most needed.

PACSA?s Director, Daniela Gennrich, assured those present that the Agency would take these responses forward and advocate vigorously for stronger civil society mobilisation in order to communicate clear ?off-the-ground? messages to State departments. The over-arching theme of these messages would be that every sector?s commitment should be summoned to help HIV-negative citizens remain uninfected, and to campaign forcefully for Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) services and other interventions for every community, wherever its location.

?We must get beyond the sadness, the pain and the anger,? she said. ?Let us focus on proactive projects and get government to take HIV/AIDS seriously, and above all, we must be unified in our fight against this epidemic.?

PACSA is distributing copies of a handbook for churches, entitled ?The Church in an HIV-positive World? and containing useful practical information for anyone wishing to assist people living with HIV and AIDS. To obtain this handbook and for other enquiries, telephone PACSA on (033) 345 0052 or e-mail [email protected]

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