HIV-AIDS

A new report reveals “very depressing” news that every mode of transmission of HIV in Washington, D.C., has increased, and overall the HIV and AIDS rates in the nation’s capital are higher than some countries in Africa.

"Our rates are higher than West Africa," said Shannon Hader, the director of D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration, to The Washington Post.

"They're on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya," said Hader, who previously spearheaded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's work in Zimbabwe. more >>

A recent report on HIV/AIDS found that the global response to the epidemic is based on significant misconceptions that have resulted in policies that fail to meet the needs of millions of children and their families.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that only orphans need support and services, the report by the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS (JLICA) spotlighted in its first chapter.

The “powerful myth” has led to the belief that the majority of children who lost a parent to AIDS lack family and social networks and need to be cared for in orphanages. more >>

The first African clergy to publicly reveal that he is HIV-positive was awarded the 2009 Niwano Peace Prize, which is comparable to the Nobel Peace Prize for the religious community, the award committee announced Friday.

Ugandan Anglican priest the Rev. Canon Gideon Byamugisha was named this year’s Niwano Peace Prize winner because of his efforts to break down the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and his advocacy for religious people to become more involved in the AIDS fight.

“Canon Gideon has turned personal suffering into a religious message of hope and courage and has matched it with constructive action that has provided inspiration and help to so many who have fallen victim to the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” said one member of the prize committee, according to Ecumenical News International. more >>

WASHINGTON – President Bush was the center of attention and outpouring of accolades Monday as Dr. Rick Warren awarded him the first “International Medal of PEACE” on the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day for his unprecedented contribution to the fight against the deadly disease.

“No man in history, no world leader, has ever done more for global health than President George W. Bush,” declared Warren at the Saddleback Church Civil Forum on Global Health, held at the Newseum in the nation’s capital.

The award is given on behalf of the Global Peace Coalition - a network of churches, businesses and individuals working together to solve humanitarian issues - to individuals that exemplify outstanding contribution towards alleviating the five global giants recognized by the Coalition: pandemic diseases, extreme poverty, illiteracy, self-centered leadership and spiritual emptiness. more >>

Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recently agreed to all be tested for HIV/AIDS at their upcoming Conference of Bishops in a denominational effort to raise awareness about the pandemic.

The 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop and secretary that make up the advisory board of ELCA’s Conference of Bishops will be tested for the virus during their March 2009 meeting in Itasca, Ill.

ELCA’s Ministry Among People in Poverty (MAPP) Committee had first introduced the idea at the October 2008 Conference meeting. The Conference of Bishops meet twice a year. more >>

Christian leaders, who are now more engaged in the HIV/AIDS battle than ever, are calling for solidarity in the fight against the global pandemic on the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day.

AIDS is “manageable and treatable although not curable,” stated former leader of South Africa’s Anglican church Archbishop Njongo Ndungane to the Amsterdam- and Cape Town-based World AIDS Campaign, founded by UNAIDS.

Ndungane urged faith leaders to help remove the stigma that AIDS is a punishment from God and teach that it is a preventable medical condition. more >>