Church shouldn’t stigmatise

to this writer a few years ago by a brother I fellowshipped with, as he disclosed his HIV status.
Although these were matters of the heart, it was evident that he was hurt by how he had been treated. The very place and people whom he thought would comfort, encourage, advice and uplift him did the opposite – stigmatised him.
But five years later, as I watch him and his wife, and activities they carry out in their support group, it’s clear that he has gone over the hurt, and he is actually assisting colleagues in the church he moved to. They are also invited to many churches by willing pastors to do awareness campaigns on HIV and Aids.
It is within this framework that this week I conclude the issues on responses to HIV and Aids by the faith-based organisations (FBOs), which I initially raised on the Divine Appointments column a fortnight ago, after attending a workshop on April 5.
It is also natural that just after celebrating the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, we look at this issue with such lenses; and, we also reflect on the messages preached during Easter, and see whether sermons coming from the pulpit address issues on the ground.
In that first installment, I highlighted remarks from Reverend Murombedzi Kuchera who is also board chairperson of the National Aids Council. A number of presentations were made, including one from this writer on how the media can assist in highlighting responses by FBOs.
The interdenominational dialogue was organised by Africare. In collaboration with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Africare is supporting Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), Methodist Development and Relief Agency (MeDRA) and Union for the Development of Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe Africa (Udaciza) with technical information dissemination, policy development and capacity building.
In his keynote presentation, a representative from the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare Dr O Mugurungi, said, “Combating HIV and mitigating Aids calls for concerted efforts from all sectors of society, and it is encouraging to note that the country has adopted a multi-sectoral approach which is guided by the Zimbabwe National Strategic Plan (ZNASP).”
He added, “Everyone here today is fully aware of the devastating effects and consequences of HIV and Aids in our country. All sectors of society have been adversely affected by this epidemic, and the church has not been spared as it now finds itself under increasing pressure to contribute more towards the mitigation of HIV and Aids.”
Dr Mugurungi also highlighted the difficult situation the church finds itself. “The church’s capacity to contribute meaningfully towards the national efforts has been severely hampered by the twin challenges of stigma and discrimination.
“The church, once projected the epidemic as so-me form of punishment for sinners and for a long time HIV and Aids, and other sexually related infections were interpreted as fulfilling the Biblical curses cited in Deuteronomy 28:27, whereby God invokes incurable diseases to punish an apostate people. This theological rigidity, and ‘holier than thou’ attitude forced many people to suffer in silence; lest they would be labelled sinners, once they disclosed their HIV status.”
However, there have been transformations over the years. Dr Mugurungi commended that “with support from various HIV and Aids stakeholders, the church has since made significant progress in confronting the deep-rooted challenges of stigma and discrimination.
“The lack of appropriate information and skills were the major drivers of stigma and discrimination, and as Government we applaud the support that is extended to all civil society structures in tackling the HIV and Aids epidemic.
“In this regard, I am particularly delighted by the effort that Africare has devoted towards strengthening the HIV and Aids responses of three local faith based networks in accordance with the existing National HIV and Aids Policies and Guidelines.”
As a result, “The support to faith based networks has helped to improve HIV and Aids knowledge levels amongst the religious leaders and church members, and this progress is underlined by an upsurge of HIV and Aids activities by church institutions. The youth are conducting peer education activities; people living with HIV and Aids are also receiving palliative and psychosocial support from their respective networks, a situation that was not conceivable in the past.”
Dr Mugurungi also said, “In spite of this positive development, we are still concerned that the influential role of the church is not being fully utilised due to the residual effects of stigma, discrimination and lack of HIV and Aids information. The country has registered significant progress towards lowering the HIV prevalence rate but the overall HIV sero-prevalence remains high and we feel the church can play a more meaningful role by responding to the HIV and Aids needs of the multitudes of its members”.
“It is the church’s right to provide for the HIV and AIDS requirements of its members and it is only unfortunate that for a long time, most interventions that were being implemented did not accord the church its rightful position in the struggle against HIV and Aids and this forced this important institution to take a passive, backseat position.
However, it is important for every one of us to be conscious that Christians do not live in a vacuum; they do not exist in isolation but are part of a larger system and this places them at equal risk of HIV infection as other members of the public.”
He added, “The church is a credible and effective institution with a unique capacity to mobilise followers/volunteers, and needs to take a pro-active role in this fight. The church is supposed to tackle limitations such as stigma and discrimination, theological rigidity, gender insensitivity, negative attitudes towards sexuality and health. The work that Africare is doing with a selected number of faith based networks has amply demonstrated that once equipped with the necessary support, the church has the capacity to implement viable and sustainable HIV and Aids activities for the benefit of members at grassroots level.”
He encouraged church leaders “to continue rolling out participatory behaviour change programmes with all the necessary support that should be availed to church leaders cascading down to peer educators, volunteer caregivers and support group members”.
He however, said that the Ministry of Health remained “deeply concerned by some sectors of the church who continue to perpetuate various types of abuse towards women and children in our communities. It is my assumption that this project will properly equip preachers with proper information on HIV and Aids and sexuality issues”.
The CDC representative said, “No one has to convince me that FBOs are important: global statistics show that 40-70 percent of health in the developing world is provided by FBOs. I know that FBOs are made up of individuals: you and you and you – real people putting faith into action.”
She also said that the US government “acknowledges FBOs and encourages FBOs to be full partners . . . Networks are critical. We know that messages and programmes through church leaders ‘land’ well in communities.
“We know that positive behaviour change supported and encouraged by trusted religious leaders is long-lasting. We know that care for the under-privileged is not a duty for FBOs but a faith privilege.”
There were other presentations from Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), Methodist Development and Relief Agency (MedRA) and Union for the Development of Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe Africa (Udaciza), SafAids, Zimbabwe Aids Network, and others.
I highlight some remarks on the Udaciza presentation, an umbrella body of 200 different Apostolic and Zionist churches, which has a network of up to 3 million members.
Founded in 1993, Udaciza was formed in the wake of the realisation that Apostolic sects had challenges in responding to disease outbreaks like cholera, measles, malaria and HIV and Aids.
Their mandate is to:
lincrease HIV and Aids awareness among Apostolic sects;
lincrease maternal and child health awareness among the Apostolic sects in Zimbabwe;
l increase public health and preventive health awareness among the apostolic sects, etc.
Concerns raised
Concern was raised on the media, which members felt deliberately cover events of this magnitude, but do not give publicity in the public media. One member cited the HIV and Aids dialogue that was recently organised by the Assemblies of God Church in Harare, but was not given any publicity, not even a single line written in the daily papers.
Concern was also raised on the failure by churches in this partnership to network after meetings.
It was also felt that the Muslim representative was not given opportunity to share his opinions and experiences in HIV and Aids responses, which were considered, could be done differently.
Dr Murungu (presenting Dr Mugurungi’s keynote paper), was challenged on what he termed “theological rigidity”. The delegate felt that it was not rigidity on the part of the church, rather, lack of knowledge about HIV and Aids.
Recommendations
lDialogue is effective and beneficial, and has put the church on the spotlight. It has revealed that the church is not performing to expectation in HIV and Aids responses.
lMore meetings and dialogue should be encouraged as they allow people from all walks of life to meet and dialogue about the challenges faced by the church and map the way forward in their responses.
lDonors should continue and/or increase their support for FBO responses.
lThe church should network and share information on emerging issues in the area of HIV and Aids.
lChurches were urged to strengthen knowledge and understanding on sexuality issues by preaching and teaching about sexuality, HIV and Aids.
lChurches were urged to mainstream HIV and Aids in their sermons. Youths should have educational sessions on HIV and Aids on scheduled dates.
lChurches were urged to have separate budgets for HIV and Aids programmes.
lA representative from UNFPA urged members to have unity of purpose, to be united by challenges of HIV and Aids, and not divided by church doctrines. He urged the church to seek knowledge beyond biblical mandate. He also admonished some churches not to look down upon donors as people who are spiritually unrighteous in the sight of God.
HIV and Aids continue to affect us all. As I remarked at the meeting, churches should move away from a situation where they now look like burial societies, since many people in the church are dying. Their core business is preaching the word of God, which incorporates divine health.
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