Journeys of Faith: Church Based Response to HIV/AIDS in Three Southern African Countries

Introduction

"Faith is the mainspring of the soul. Through faith, our aims, desires, plans and purposes are translated into physical, social, economic, political, artistic and spiritual achievements. Over the centuries, positive religious faith hasstimulated individual and collective actions for the improvement of people, collectively and individually, in many different spheres of life. History also abounds with instances of religious faith, applied negatively, bringing untold suffering, injustice and evil into the world. For many centuries, religious faith andspirituality have been major resources in promoting health and well-being, and in helping people to cope with the impact of disease.

This is especially the case in Africa, where religious beliefs play a major role in shaping people's personal identities, thought patterns and perceptions of disease, and the decisions they make which affect their health. Faith communities in Africa therefore have the potential to play a pivotal role in determining how individuals, families and whole communities respond to the HIV epidemic, which is the greatest health and development challenge facing the continent today. Indeed, in many African countries, churches and other faith-based organisations have been verymuch to the fore in developing and spreading innovative and effective responses to the HIV epidemic.

Strategies such as home-based care, counselling, peer education and communitybased support for families affected by HIV/AIDS have been pioneered and developed by Christian health programmes and other faith-based organisations in many African countries. Religious faith can also play an important role in promoting safer sexual behaviour, and in motivating large numbers of volunteersinvolved in HIV/AIDS care, support and prevention activities. Moreover, the personal testimonies of many people living positively and productively with HIV reveal a deep reliance on inner spiritual resources for strength and willpower.

Yet by and large, the responses of faith-based organisations in general, and of churches in particular, towards the global HIV epidemic have generally lacked sufficient urgency and commitment. This is especially so in the field of HIV prevention, and in combatting the stigma, denial and discrimination that are often attached to HIV/AIDS. The main reason for this failure has been the association, in the collective mind of many members of faith communities, of HIV/ AIDS with immoral sexual behaviour. Many church leaders in Africa – and elsewhere in the world – regard HIV infection."