Faith-based organisations have re-committed to ending HIV and Aids, as the UN gathers for its 21st International Aids Conference in Durban, South Africa.
Ahead of the conference, which began Monday and ends on Friday, interfaith groups held a series of meetings to discuss faith-based initiatives in response to the Aids crisis.
Under the theme 'Faith on the fast track', delegates pledged to step up work to reduce stigma and discrimination and to increase access to HIV services.
"We must continue in the fast lane. We cannot return to the slow lane or go slow in the fast lane," said Rev Phumzile Mabizela, executive director of INERELA+, an interfaith network of religious leaders who are living with or are personally affected by HIV.
Rev Edwin Sanders, the founder of Metropolitan International Church in Tennessee, urged faith leaders to act to help those most vulnerable.
"The global symbols of power are the tall buildings we build, evidence of our advancement," he said. "But these same structures cast a shadow on the powerless and it's the people in the pall of the shadow we are called to help."
UNAID'S senior advisor for faith-based organizations (FBOs), Sally Smith, urged faith-based organisations to "go the extra mile" in helping bring an end to HIV.
"We have the science to end HIV in five years, but we don't have the funding," she said. "You are called to finish the task that you started."
Ahead of the conference, the World Council of Churches (WCC) issued a pastoral letter reaffirming its commitment to ending Aids by 2030.
"We are urged by the love of Christ to step beyond what is comfortable or convenient, particularly when reaching out to those who live on the margins of society and our theologies," the letter said. "For us this means accompanying people and communities living with, or vulnerable to HIV every day, every month, every year until AIDS has been overcome."
The WCC's programme executive of the ecumenical HIV and AIDS initiatives and advocacy, Nyambura Njoroge, warned that churches were continuing to "bury people from their congegations".
We need to ensure that people in the pew have access to this pastoral letter so they feel part of the Christian community. For those living with HIV, we are continuing to commit ourselves to accompanying them," she said.
