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During a webinar in the “Love Matters” series, young people explored mental health and trauma management in the context of HIV, sexual and gender-based violence, and COVID-19.

A UNAIDS-PEPFAR faith-based initiative workshop, “Harnessing the Power of Partnerships,” started on 27 September in Tanzania with a focus on HIV stigma, treatment adherence and faith healing.

The World Council of churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy program, in partnership with Pole Institute, hosted a UNAIDS-PEPFAR Faith Initiative consultation on HIV risks and vulnerabilities among migrants, displaced people and refugees in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme will hold workshops in April 2021 on HIV treatment adherence in Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

A three-day workshop facilitated in Jos, Nigeria by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in partnership with the Christian Council of Nigeria trained religious leaders, humanitarian workers and government officials on how to provide support for migrants who are vulnerable to HIV.

In Cameroon, adolescents and young people ages 15-24 partly account for high new HIV infections, which largely occur through unprotected sexual intercourse. This current HIV prevalence among youth may compromise the present and future development of this country.

Despite huge progress since AIDS was first identified 35 years ago, the threat of AIDS still haunts much of the world. 21 million people currently have no access to treatment of HIV, and AIDS-related illnesses are now the leading cause of death for adolescents in Africa. More than 2 million people are newly infected annually. The world is facing the catastrophe of 6 million AIDS-related orphans, and this figure is growing.

Churches must commit themselves to create “healing and reconciling ministry that puts people at the centre and allow for a wholistic approach in health care”, states a declaration issued during an international symposium on “Christian Responses to Global Health and Development” in Tübingen, Germany.

Christian theology regarding all people as created in God's image can help overcome the HIV and AIDS pandemic. This and other views on the impact of HIV in Africa, its gender dynamics and the role of people living with HIV, were shared by Prof. Musa W. Dube, a former consultant of the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA) in a recent interview.

A staff member of the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA) has been elected as general secretary of the Council of Christian Churches in Angola (CICA). She will be the first woman to serve as general secretary of the CICA, a position she considers an “opportunity to mobilize African churches to do more” in healing HIV affected communities.

By Marcelo Schneider (*)