Nama : NASIYATI
NIM : 1111487
Assalamu’alaikum wr. wb.
I am honoured to be invited to
address you today on a matter that so deeply affects South Africa, Africa and
indeed the whole world.
HIV/AIDS has been with us for about
two decades, but it remains a problem whose solution continues to elude us all.
We are making some progress in understanding this challenge, but we still have
a long way to go in containing its spread.
Although people from all walks of
life are affected, AIDS is hitting hard at the most vulnerable sections of our
society. It is the poor, the illiterate, the marginalized, the women and the
children who bear most of the burden of the HIV epidemic.
The face of HIV/AIDS in South
Africa has become more complex over the past 10 years. We are no longer only
dealing with information and awareness, but with people that are faced with the
reality of living with the disease. The vast majority of them are undiagnosed.
Sebagian besar dari mereka adalah undiagnosed. They do not know their HIV status.
Some of them are already falling ill but they do not know that their illnesses
are related to HIV/AIDS. And even if they do know or suspect, they are
reluctant to come out and talk about their condition.
I stand before you today to further
consolidate our partnership in responding to this major challenge particularly
the stigma that continue to be associated with it. We seek your partnership
because we know that every South African citizen, every leader, bishop or
priest has a special and unique role to play in combating HIV infection and
caring for those living with HIV/AIDS.
The church has always played a role of caring for those who are weak and in
need of support. But you have been able to initiate programmed that really make
a difference in the lives of those in need of care particularly the children.
The care that you have given has ot been limited only to the message of hope
and spiritual well-being. I am convinced that the church can play a major role
in fighting the stigma that is associated with HIV/AIDS and encourage openness
and positive living amongst those who are infected and affected.
To ensure a common direction in the call for partnerships, we initiated the
development of the Five Year Strategic Plan for South Africa, in 2000 in
collaboration with all the key stakeholders, including the faith-based sector.
It is a broad national strategic plan designed to guide the country’s response
to HIV/AIDS. The plan outline four priority areas, which are: (1) Prevention,
(2) Treatment, Care and Support, (3) Research, Monitoring and Surveillance and
(4) Human Rights.
There can be no doubt that the faith based community has a central role to play
in the implementation of this plan.
There are numerous examples of how the faith sector is responding or can
respond to this challenge. I will like to raise for discussion at least four
key roles that Faith-based organizations and individual members of those organizations can play in responding to HIV/AIDS.
With regard to Education, we can:
Identify resources and models for
prevention education
Strengthen HIV/AIDS prevention
through family enrichment
Enhance HIV/AIDS prevention through
youth programmed – building a solid foundation concerning sexuality,
responsible adulthood and marriage, appreciating the youth and breaking the
silence about sex.
On Advocacy, we can:
Campaign against discrimination
Work together with government in
achieving appropriate levels of cost-effective health care, especially home
based care
Seek means to protect interests of
particularly women and children
On Worship, we can
Establish an annual National Day of
Prayer and Healing for all persons affected by the epidemic
Establish an interfaith Day of Prayer and Healing Service, we can
Provide care which involves
encouraging and supporting those who are infected and affected
Promote ‘Family fostering’ for those who have lost their parents or guardians
Take part in providing home care
which may include:
Home visits for prayer and
scripture reading
Meeting physical needs for food,
clothing, medical attention
Assistance in planning for the
future of the family particularly children
Support for orphaned children
Assisting with basic household
activities such as shopping, cleaning the house or washing clothes
At the All Africa Church and AIDS Consultation which was held in Kampala in
April 1994 a “Call to Action” was developed and signed. Similarly, “A
commitment on HIV/AIDS by people of faith”, was signed in Washington that same
year. I will like to quote at least one section of this statement of
commitment, and I quote:
“We are called by God to affirm a life of hope and healing in the midst of
HIV/AIDS. Our traditions call us to embody and proclaim hope, and to celebrate
life and healing in the midst of suffering.”
We therefore need to send a positive message about HIV/AIDS. We need to tell
people that just because you are HIV positive today, it does not mean you will
get AIDS tomorrow and die. Co-factors such as poverty, high levels of mainly
childhood malnutrition, vitamin A and iodine deficiency as well as lack of
other micronutrients have a major impact on how one progress to full-blown
AIDS.
We have to advise those infected and affected by HIV that by eating nutritious
food, managing their stress, treating any infection promptly including sexually
transmitted infections and using condoms, they can live longer and lead a
healthy and productive life for many years.
We need to use this opportunity to declare our response to AIDS:
We are called to love
We are called to be compassionate
and care
We should commit ourselves to
speaking publicly and promote HIV/AIDS prevention and ABC messages
We should promote and provide care for those who are infected and affected
We should fight the sins of
discrimination and stigma
We should work together with other
sectors of society to seek ways of eliminating poverty
I strongly believe that if we can leave this conference with a strong
re-affirmation as the faith based leaders of this country, we will be able to
provide hope for the faith community and for society as a whole: That in the
spirit of love, compassion and care, through collective efforts to confront and
to challenge discrimination and to empower our respective believers, we can
overcome many of the challenges posed to us by HIV/AIDS.
Wassalamu’alaikum wr. wb.