African religious leaders discuss action against HIV/AIDS

Religious organisations are "better placed" to change the prevailing negative attitudes towards HIV/AIDS which have undermined efforts to contain the pandemic in many African societies, Carol Bellamy, head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), has said.

Addressing 120 African religious leaders meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss the plight of African children affected by HIV/AIDS, Bellamy said that although campaigns had made hard-won gains in bringing the pandemic to the attention of decision-makers across the continent, there was a "wall of silence" at the family and community levels, which was undermining education efforts being made to combat AIDS, and promoting the stigmatisation of people affected.

"We may have broken a wall of silence among policy- and decision-makers. But there is a second wall of silence out there - a wall that is keeping young people from learning about HIV, and stigmatising those who have it. And unless that second wall of silence is brought down, all the hard-won gains of recent years will have been for nothing," Bellamy said.

Nearly 14 million children under age 15, almost all in Africa, have lost their mothers or both parents to AIDS, according to UNICEF.

"You have trusted personal relationships and the confidence of the people you serve. You have moral authority. And you are on the front lines of this pandemic," Bellamy told the religious leaders.

"You can spread the word about what it takes to confront and beat this terrible disease through your mosques, temples and churches, through your lay people and your women's groups and youth organisations. When it comes to caring for the children and families affected by HIV/AIDS, religious communities are major leaders at the local and national levels. The bottom line is that you have a unique power within your organisations, which, if mobilised, could change the face of this epidemic," she said.

Jointly organised by the Hope for African Children Initiative (HACI), a community-based pan-African organisation seeking to address challenges faced by children orphaned by AIDS, and the World Conference on Religion and Peace, the interdenominational meeting in Nairobi is the first of its kind to focus on the role of religious communities in responding to the impact of HIV-AIDS on children in Africa.

The conference hopes to "formulate a strong message" on children and AIDS and also to gain support from the G8 leaders meeting in Canada at the end of June, according to the organisers.

About 95 percent of the more than 13 million AIDS orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a statement issued by the organisers on Monday. It said studies showed that children who lose their parents to AIDS were more likely to suffer from abuse than children orphaned by other causes, largely as a result of the stigma and discrimination often associated with AIDS.

The religious leaders attending the conference, a quarter of them women, include Winston Njongonkulu Ndungane, the Archbishop of Cape Town; Abune Paulos, the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church; and Sheikh Shaban Mubajji, mufti of the Ugandan Muslim Supreme Council.

Former Tanzanian President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, and Stephen Lewis, the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on AIDS, were among other notable individuals who joined the religious leaders.

Addressing the gathering, William Vendley, the Secretary-General of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, which is one of the five core partners of the HACI, said the assembly was "a rare opportunity for African religious leaders to make their collective voices heard on a matter as devastating as HIV/AIDS", the joint statement quoted him as saying.

Ndungane, who is also an outspoken anti-HIV/AIDS action advocate, said: "When religious leaders work together on a major issue such as AIDS, they not only improve their own capacity to respond but are in a better position to leverage increased commitment from other leaders."

Pat Youri, the head of HACI, noted that religious leaders had "a tremendous influence" throughout Africa, and particularly at the community level, where they had "moral authority" to advocate for compassionate care and support for those who were HIV-positive.

The religious leaders are expected to adopt a declaration and plan of action outlining the commitment of religious communities to address the rights and needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS.

[This item is delivered to the English Service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.]