Archbishop appeals to governments to give hope to HIV sufferers

|PIC1|The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on governments to bring hope to the world’s millions of HIV sufferers by giving them the medical help they need.

In a video released for World Aids Day today, Dr Rowan Williams appealed in particular for more medical assistance to prevent mother to child transmission.

“We know that the transmission from mother to child is something that can be dealt with. We need to encourage all our governments to keep up their commitment to making this medical help available, and to giving hope, which we know is possible,” he said.

In the video, the Archbishop discusses stigma associated with HIV and Aids with the Rev Patricia Sawo, a HIV positive church leader and mother from Kenya.

The two leaders said that the church had an important role to play in breaking the silence on the issues surrounding HIV and Aids and providing support and leadership.

“My congregation knows about my status and people in my church know that this is a place where, if they come with HIV, they can be loved," said Rev Sawo.

“What makes me hopeful is the church, and the love that a woman can receive in the church, hoping in faith that all things are possible, but at the same time making it a reality by having the space in the church where women can grow to be themselves, and be able to face all kinds of life challenges.”

The Archbishop added that the church could “provide space for people to face themselves, to be themselves, and to cope with their future”.

Rev Sawo called for an end to the stigma and denial associated with the virus. “The things we are silent about, the things we never talk about – they are the things that really affect us,” she said.

According to statistics released last month by WHO and the UN, there are 33.4 million HIV sufferers worldwide, among them 2.1 million children.

World Vision echoed the Archbishop’s appeal for more treatment to prevent mother to child transmission and warned that children were often left behind in the response to HIV. It remains the leading cause of child mortality in five sub-Saharan African countries.

"The proportion of children dying from Aids-related illnesses is
staggering; they account for 16 per cent of the Aids-related deaths, despite the fact that they account for only 6 per cent of the people living with HIV," said Emma Aston, World Vision’s HIV and Aids policy officer.

The Christian aid agency is calling on the international community to fulfil its promise of providing universal access to treatment, care and support for HIV sufferers by 2010, warning that the goal is nowhere near being met in time.

“Although 42 per cent treatment coverage is an improvement, more must be done to reach universal access,” said Aston.

“The international community must fulfil their commitment of universal access to comprehensive prevention, treatment, care and support, with no one left behind by 2010.”



See the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Rev Patricia Sawo discuss the HIV and Aids situation here www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmB7SqxuAR0