THE World Council of Churches – Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance has tasked religious leaders and representatives of faith-based organisations to volunteer to become champions for children and adolescents Living with HIV!
A statement made available on the WCC’s website read: “People of faith cannot remain indifferent to the 400 children who are newly infected with HIV each day and to the 300 children who die of AIDS-related causes daily.
“We cannot remain silent knowing that many adolescents do not receive proper information about HIV and AIDS and knowing that all these infections and deaths are entirely avoidable!
“To change this situation, the WCC-EAA is mobilising faith leaders, representatives of faith-based organisations and faith-based media representatives to speak out for and with children and adolescents living with HIV and HIV/TB co-infection.
“Unless concrete action is taken now, hundreds of thousands more will become HIV-positive and die needlessly in the coming years.”
According to the WCC, the “champions” are expected to inspire political change and inform their faith communities about children and adolescents’ issues related to HIV.
“We count on your powerful voices as religious leaders to make and shape national policies, call for justice, protect the rights of children and adolescents, address stigma and discrimination, and mobilize people to take up testing, prevention, treatment and care,” the WCC urged.
The media was also called upon to use its position to “inform the public about children, adolescents and HIV and raise the level of the debate.
“Together, champions will be powerful agents for action to make sure that 1.6 million children and 1.2 million adolescents living with HIV will be provided with treatment by the end of 2018 – as agreed by all United Nations Member States in the 2016 UN HIV High Level Meeting on Ending AIDS.”
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