HIV/AIDS
[Source: compiled by ACSA in 2006]
Angola and Mozambique are both in the Province of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. The Province has AIDS programmes and an HIV/AIDS coordinator in each diocese.
ACSA is committed to working towards a generation free from HIV and AIDS. Our mission is to serve those people working tirelessly all over our region to halt the spread of HIV, and providing care for those already touched by it. We would like to share with our Companion Link Dioceses in the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church in Wales, and the Church of England, information about our programmes throughout Angola, Namibia, South Africa, St Helena, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique.
In 2003, the Anglican Church in Southern Africa launched our first provincial campaign in response to HIV and AIDS - Isiseko Sokomeleza or “Building a Foundation”. Each of our 24 Dioceses appointed a HIV and AIDS Coordinator to support parishes starting or improving projects responding to the effects of HIV in local communities. Monthly funding is supplied to Dioceses for this work. Additional grants are provided for:
ACSA’s anti-stigma campaign declares “In Christ, there is no difference between positive and negative”. We have given out over 50,000 T-shirts and posters proclaiming this message. We have supplied clergy and lay people with leaflets detailing the facts about HIV, and liturgy materials for World AIDS Day.
Our newest programme Siyafundisa, or “Teaching Our Children” will:
ACSA’s HIV and AIDS Programmes are carrying out a wide variety of work in addition to that outlined above. Here is the information for Angola and Mozambique:
Angola is a country still emerging from decades of war. Nearly 4% of the adult population are people living with HIV. This is lower than any other country in Southern Africa.
The Anglican Church’s HIV and AIDS Programmes face a number of challenges as a consequence of the history of conflict. Road transport is not widely possible outside of the Capital, Luanda. Air transport, the only alternative, is expensive. However, the Diocese has begun to train volunteers to raise awareness about how to prevent the spread of HIV.
The Diocesan HIV and AIDS Co-ordinator is Maria Domingos.
Over 12% of Mozambicans were living with HIV in 2003, and the number is rising. Provinces that contain the main transport routes to Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe, have seen the fastest increases. The majority of new infections occur in people under 29 years of age.
Volunteers in the Diocese of Lebombo visit families and households to raise awareness of the facts about HIV. The Diocese has provided them with training and information about prevention strategies. 60 volunteers in two towns aim to reach 1,000 families per month. The Diocese also provides support and training in responses to HIV to Sunday School teachers, home-based carers and counsellors.
In Maciene Parish a church and community group making crafts for income has grown to respond to HIV. It now runs support groups, home based care, and soup kitchens.
The Diocesan HIV and AIDS Coordinator is Padre Cristovao Munguambe.
“Churches, Channels of Hope” is a key part of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa’s HIV and AIDS Programme. Its aim is to empower churches and communities with resources to develop their own unique strategy for combating HIV and AIDS based on what is happening in their own communities.
Using these resources, Equipas da Vida (Life Teams) are springing up in parishes all over Niassa. Teams drive awareness campaigns and care for people who are sick. Orphaned teenagers are often left caring for their siblings. Equipas da Vida renovate the homes of child-headed households and provide them with furniture.
The Diocese is also running a literacy programme which incorporates information about HIV. Participants improve their reading skills and their knowledge of how to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Diocesan HIV and AIDS Coordinator is Rebecca Vander Meulen.
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