Week 3, Beginning to Focus on HIV/AIDS

With the loss of one group member, Hideyo and I decided to focus on one topic -- HIV/AIDS. As I started to look at sites, there seemed to be an emphasis either on developing nations' dealing with HIV/AIDS or on how the US and other developed nations handle the disease. I will focus on some international stories and links as well as address some of the US stories as I imagine the goal of our group will be to equip churches in the US. Many of these sites and stories offer important statistics about the far-reaching effects of HIV/AIDS. While we cannot downplay the important human and personal element of the disease, we should also not neglect how the disease is affecting larger structures.

International HIV/AIDS links:

Millenium Development Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases; Target 7: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS (with indicators)

A framework of 8 goals, 18 targets and 48 indicators to measure progress towards the Millennium Development goals [MDG] was adopted by a consensus of experts from the United Nations Secretariat and IMF, OECD and the World Bank.

This site contains data that displays effects of the HIV/AIDS crisis (e.g., estimated HIV/AIDS deaths) as well as markers that show concrete actions that can be taken to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. For example, one of the indicators is making sure that young people (ages 15-24) not only have access to education about the disease, but actually posses "comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS." These MDG's are rather comprehensive and address the issues on a societal level. That may be daunting to some churches or organizations, but as I was encouraged this week, I think it is possible for a church to adopt one goal and seek to work towards that.

World AIDS Campaign (WAC)
The WAC's site says that it recently changed its goal from primarily being an organization that0 raises awareness to become a "global effort of civil society to shift policy, mobilize resources, and call for action on the ground." Immediately we are in the language of the powers, and these goals of mobilizing resources to help those most in need seems to be an attempt to redeem those larger societal powers. It would appear that the WAC initially tried to affect the more intimate, smaller-scale powers through raising awareness, but has now decided to address the larger, strucural powers.

Lesson for Life 2005
Another site whose primary focus is raising awareness for the HIV/AIDS crisis. There are some specific action points. The most helpful page is Think Global Act Local! The HIV/AIDS crisis is so daunting, especially when one thinks on the international level, that many churches and Christians may feel defeated before they attempt any action. This page offers concrete actions that have shown to be effective, such as donating the dollar. "When financial support was increased in Uganda from $1 to $18 to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS, the AIDS epidemic was reversed."

Hope Initiative: World Vision AIDS Page
Last week I wrote that I couldn't find resources for groups and churches to address health issues on World Vision's site. After more surfing, I came across this page, which is full of resources. World Vision is a highly respected agency that is undeniably and unabashedly Christian. They will perhaps be one of the greatest sources of information and action for churches seeking to address the issue -- their respectability in both Christian and secular circles allows them to be a unique bridge. Their reputation will probably also offer a safe place for churches who are tentative to engage. The Pastor's Speaking Points (.pdf) offers speaking points for pastors, including statistics such as "22 million people have already died; one in four of them were children," and biblical references. As Christians we like to think of our churches as entities outside the realm of the powers, but we have to admit that our communities operate with values similar to our milieu, which means that our churches may need some redemption themselves. As we look to participate with God in redeeming the powers, let us not neglect our own redemption.

Global AIDS Alliance
Another general information site. Not much different than the other sites, but it does offer a good page of links for all sorts of agencies and information.

DATA (Debt AIDS Trade Africa): The AIDS Crisis
This page offers perhaps the best short synopsis of the AIDS crisis in Africa, as well as a hopeful tone over what can be done to solve it. The "What Must be Done" section at the bottom of the page lists, "Fight the Stigma." In what could be considered a redemption of the government's position on AIDS, the site says, "In Uganda, public education and prevention campaigns that were supported by the President cut infection rates from 14% of adults in the early 1990's to 5% in 2001." This should offer us hope that there are examples of administrative agents using their skills to assist this problem.

AIDS Situation in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand (.pdf), courtesty of Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities Centre (DEPDC)
This short document shows HIV/AIDS statistics in one specific region of Thailand. DEPDC works towards educating girls and young women so that they do not have to enter the sex trade. It was shocking looking at the statistics to see that those in the agricultural industry are the most infected. While I do not have other tools to analyze the data, my assumption is that many of these are boys and girls whose families are too poor to care for them, so they are sold into the sex trade. DEPDC says the Thai government does little to stop the sex trade -- it doesn't even acknowledge it. Looking at means of transmission, which is primarily sexual, it seems that Thailand and South East Asia may become the next Africa if steps to stop HIV/AIDS are not taken now.

HIV/AIDS in the US links:

RAND: Majority of HIV Patients Report Importance of Spirituality.
This is simply an abstract of a study published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine that shows "Eighty percent of respondents reported a religious affiliation. Sixty-five percent affirmed that religion and 85% that spirituality was "somewhat" or "very" important in their lives." The survey focused on people in the US living with HIV/AIDS. These statistics should be somewhat encouraging to churches since spirituality and religion are theoretically the areas in which we excel. Christians need not worry that they don't have medical training to work against HIV/AIDS. That is not to say that we should spiritualize the HIV/AIDS crisis, but realize that spirituality is an important aspect of most people's and in order to truly care for them, we must address them holistically.

NPR, Talk of the Nation: Increase in HIV Among Gays (July 29, 2003) (Requires Real Audio or Windows Media Player to listen to the story.)
Between 2002-2003, the number of overall new cases of HIV/AIDS increased slightly while deaths decreased. Risky behavior in gay men seems to be on the rise, though not necessarily among younger men. Dr. Harold Jaffe of the CDC said that the number of new infections in the US has stayed around 44,000 per year for about a decade. One of the reasons is that those groups of people who are most likely to be infected tend to be marginalized. The CDC wants to put more emphasis on prevention for those already infected. Jaffe opined that some of the reasons for the rise in infection in the gay population were due to over-optimism of treatment and a lack of fear. Certainly reaching out to these marginalized groups is something churches will need to look at.

Religion and Ethics Newsweekly: The US and AIDS (October 4, 2002)
This article is about AIDS internationally, but with a focus on the impact the crisis is having and will have on the US. With the likely collapse of governments in southern Africa, some analysts predict that a setting in which new governments that are more "subversive" could take power. National security could be challenged, they argue. Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision, argues that there could be even greater worldwied economic fallout due to AIDS in Africa. As we look at globalization in class, this story speaks directly of the effects that could occur when one considers how tightly knit the world economy is and is continuing to become.