Global Policy Forum

Church Must Also Acknowledge Role in Spreading Stigma and Discrimination

Full Report: Faith Untapped

A week before the International AIDS Conference in Toronto a new report from Tearfund reveals that a hidden army of millions of church volunteers is tackling Africa's AIDS crisis head on. But they lack the international support and funding which could turn the continent's one million churches into one of the single most effective weapons for halting the pandemic.

The report, Faith untapped, estimates the value of the churches' care for orphans, the sick and elderly at over £2.5 billion annually – yet the churches doing this work barely rate a mention in global strategies for tackling AIDS in Africa, where 24 million people are infected in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

One week ahead of the 16th UN International AIDS Conference in Toronto (August 13-18), which will look at ‘bringing effective HIV prevention and treatment strategies to communities the world over', the Tearfund report states: "Churches' long reach, deep into people's psyche and far down pot-holed tracks into even the most remote villages, means they are uniquely placed to respond to people's needs. Their reach often extends far beyond that of governments and NGOs."

Veena O'Sullivan, Tearfund's HIV and AIDS advisor, says: "We need fresh thinking on tackling AIDS in Africa. There are 2 million congregations of different faiths. In some churches every single member is involved in caring for orphans and vulnerable children. International donors must urgently seek to understand the nature of faith, recognise churches' potential to be more effective and ensure funding quickly reaches the grassroots of African society where the money is most needed."

The report, the foreword of which is written by former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton, also calls for recognition by churches, that as well as a hidden force for good in the struggle against AIDS, they have often been part of the problem. "Churches should look again at their own attitudes to gender, sex and HIV and AIDS, and recognise the part they often play in fuelling stigma and discrimination," the report says. "Too often church leaders fail to talk openly about sex and so miss the opportunity to change attitudes and behaviour." Lord Carey adds in the report's foreword: "If we put our own house in order and if we are properly resourced and trained, churches and other faith groups could become one of the single most effective strategies for tackling the HIV and AIDS pandemic."

Underlining the potential of the churches to expand their current role, the reports states: "There are more than 250,000 congregations in the AIDS belt of East and Southern Africa alone – more than enough to support the region's 12 million orphans. Kenya alone has 80,000 congregations: if each cared for 20 orphans, all the country's 1.6 million orphans would be supported."

In his foreword Lord Carey explains that churches have a distinct role in bringing hope where AIDS had brought devastation. "There is hope, even in remote communities decimated by disease and largely overlooked by the rest of humanity. I have seen it firsthand. And much of this hope lies in the hands of African churches which, for years, have been on the front line… For these people of faith, hope is not abstract: it is something practical and powerful…"

Among the mounting evidence of churches' impact cited in Faith untapped: