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Statement of the All Africa Conference of Churches on World AIDS Day

The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) joins the rest of the world in observing World AIDS Day on 1st December 2008. This is the 11th time since the day was first dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic. As the day is marked, the AACC wishes to express its solidarity with those living with HIV and those affected by the virus that causes AIDS. The AIDS pandemic is today one of the most challenging occurrence in human history and is a threat to men, women and children around the world. In Africa it is known to have had negative impact in the economy of the continent, reversing the some of the gains that the continent was just beginning to realise.
As we observe the Day, special focus is on children who get infected through mother-to-child transmission.  The campaign for this year is to stop AIDS in children and calling out attention for urgent action in the prevention of mother to child transmission. According to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), nearly 2,000 infants are infected daily with HIV during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding - most of them in sub-Saharan Africa - and that every single day some 6,000 young people between the ages of 14 and 24 contract the virus. Currently, over 2 million children are infected with HIV and there are several hundred thousand children born HIV positive each year
In spite of this alarming figure, only 9% of pregnant women living with HIV in the developing world are provided with drugs to prevent the virus being transmitted to their babies. As a result, nearly half a million children become infected with HIV every year. We add our voice to that of the Stop AIDS in Children campaign that is calling on governments and international agencies to urgently improve PMTCT coverage worldwide.
World wide it is said over 41 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. This is an alarming statistic that does not just refer to a number, but to human beings created in the image of God. We are all part of God's creation and are therefore connected to one Father, who gives the identity of belonging together such that when any of us is affected, we all share in the pain.

As people guided by the principle of being our brother's keeper, we urge the global community to act in solidarity with those infected. Let us demonstrate our oneness in God, the Creator, by providing care for people living with HIV/AIDS. Creating awareness, fighting prejudice and education still remain the ultimate weapons to manage HIV/AIDS. AACC continues to encourage churches to work to overcome ignorance and prejudice surrounding HIV/ AIDS and help raise awareness by selling the symbolic red ribbons and any other activity or activities they deem appropriate to halt the spread of HIV.
It is our moral obligation and commitment to humanity that we urge churches to be in the forefront, playing the vital role of spearheading awareness creation on how to conduct themselves to ensure protection against HIV and AIDS. Urging people to know their status is the number one strategy in combating the pandemic as it helps them know right way to deal with their status, whether positive or negative since even those already infected still need to protect themselves.
Even as we call for awareness creation, we also challenge governments, especially those of the First World to keep the promise of universal access to HIV treatment, care, support and prevention services by 2010. To the pharmaceutical companies, we urge them not to be driven by profit gains but to put the human life first. Make HIV/AIDS drugs affordable, especially to the developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean Pacific. The latest drugs in the market are known to work miracles in the health of those infected. Many have very little or no side effects and are giving hope to many who take them. But much more needs to be done since only a small fraction of those living with HIV are on ARVs. People should be persuaded to go for testing, and those living with virus be encouraged to use ARVs that are currently the only hope to live long with the virus.

Despite the African Union (AU) inaugurating access to HIV Prevention in 2006 simultaneously in Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Ougadougou and Khartoum, sub-Saharan Africa continues to lead the world in HIV prevalence.   Of the five million new infections last year, 3.2 million of them occurred in the region. African countries appear not to have intensified and improved their efforts in the prevention of HIV infection as was envisaged with the inauguration of the prevention strategy programme. Africa is at a very precarious position and its effort to contain the spread of HIV compromised by the widespread poverty, underdevelopment and gender inequalities that make women more vulnerable to HIV infection.

We call upon the developed countries that through unfair trade policies, undermine Africa's development endeavours and deny it reap maximum benefit from its exports, to change their attitude. We also urge for leadership integrity that will see Africa treat its people equally and with humane. This is the only sure way of closing the widening poverty gap that is synonymous with Africa.

Our support goes to the initiative of faith bodies to collaborate and work together in the fight against HIV as was envisaged in the last interfaith conference (3rd to 4th August 2008) that preceded the International AIDS Conference in Mexico. World AIDS Day is calling us all to spur into action. There is still a lot of work to be done in the fight against HIV/AIDS and we only win the war when we work together.

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