26 July

The knotty issue of the Church and the "c" word...

`Put a panel of Pastors together to speak about HIV, and you can pretty much guarantee two things: stirring speeches punctuated by applause from the floor, and no-one will use the word 'condom'. This afternoon's session, 'Engaging Men in Treatment and Prevention by Utilizing a Faith-based Approach' looked set the break the mould.  And then it didn't.'

`We heard strong evidence of the Church's programmes to support families affected by HIV, to provide health services in villages and towns, diagnosing HIV and supporting treatment adherence. And they're being impressively successful in getting African men involved in HIV testing, treatment and support.

I heard evidence from Rwanda which mirrored Terrence Higgins Trust's experience in England. They, like us, have been using soccer as a way of improving awareness and engaging men with HIV. But our focus is primarily on prevention, and that's where our programmes differ.

Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet who facilitated the session, admitted that the public health community have neglected faith-based organisations and their role in health globally. "This is a great mistake" he said to enthusiastic applause.

I picked up real frustration that the World AIDS Conference has underplayed the contribution of faith organisations over the years. I heard honesty, too, that the contribution of some of its members has sometimes been less than helpful.

"The church has not done a very good job of talking about sex and sexuality and because of that, many, many people have been wounded and confused." said Kay Warren in response to a question about how the church supports gay men.

There's no doubt that the Church's reach around the world makes it ideally placed to make a significant contribution to the HIV pandemic. Kay pointed out that with 61,000 converts per day, the Church is growing faster than HIV.

And yet there's still this inability to talk about condoms, about the one, cheap and reasonably readily available thing that might reduce the numbers of people being infected in the first place.

I left wondering why such a motivated group of caring individuals were content to realise only part of the potential of the powerful, influential organsation they serve.

Imagine what they could do if they turned their considerable energies to condom-based HIV prevention. I think, to paraphrase Bishop Desmond Tutu, that would really put a smile on God's face. '

Genevieve Edwards
Executive Director of Communications, Fundraising, and Health Improvement