Wednesday 1 July 2020 saw the official launching of the "Faith and Community Initiative" at "The George Hotel" in Manzini (Eswatini).
In the words of US Ambassador Lisa Peterson the project is
an innovative concept that is empowering and investing in people and institutions to help achieve HIV epidemic control in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
As I shared at Good Shepherd last 12 June when presenting the PPE for the Hospital and Catholic Clinics, COVID19 might make us forget that the rest of the diseases have not ended and therefore the fight against HIV remains an important one.
The launching, a one hour function due to COVID19 regulations, was an important acknowledgement of both the role that faith communities have been playing for decades in the health field and the size of the Christian community in this country. According to the minister for Home Affairs, Princess Lindiwe Dlamini-Kasaro, 90% of the population of the country identify themselves as Christians.
Churches can be found everywhere in this country and keeping in mind that 70% of the population of the country lives in rural areas, no one better than the Christian churches to reach the people no matter where they live.
Although Eswatini has achieved notable success in its HIV response, there is still an alarmingly high percentage of men who are not aware of their HIV status. According to the Eswatini HIV Incidence Measurement Survey (SHIMS) (2017), 22.5% of men living with HIV do not know their status compared to 11.4% among females. Stigma and fear continue to stand in the way of men knowing their HIV status, seeking care and treatment, or returning to treatment. Stigma makes us less effective at preventing new infections. Men who fear a positive result and do not test for HIV (Ambassador Lisa Peterson)
That is why the first goal is to reach and test men (particularly), women and HIV-positive children who do not yet know their status.
The project, though, is also about child abuse. As the Minister of Health, Senator Lizzie Nkosi said:
Sexual violence against children is a great concern in the country and the Church needs to increase communication that address these issues. It is time that these matters are well articulated in the churches and if these matters are spear headed by the church leaders the impact this will have in the communities at large, would be most remarkable.
I personally believe this project presents us, leaders and members of Christian churches,
with a unique opportunity.
It not just an opportunity to make others aware but it is a call to each one of us to examine
ourselves and try to understand how comes that, in such a Christian
country (at least by the number of churches and membership), there could
be so much violence against children.
Every speech underlined that preventing violence against them is an essential element of this project. Something has been missing in the Gospel we preach. We have been blind to the suffering of the little ones. There is no way we can justify it and it would be tragic if we now choose to close our eyes to this weakness in our witness.
Click HERE to download the speeches
