HIV/AIDS Focusing On The Positive

Nicky Welsh is currently heading up an HIV training and development initiative in Southern Africa. She is a member of Hope church, Durban, Kwazulu Natal and is married to Gary.

Since HIV was first diagnosed, 20 million deaths have been attributed to the virus. The actual number of deaths will be greater than that because many families choose not to record HIV/AIDS as the underlying reason for fatality and ask that a present opportunistic infection (such as a cancer, TB or Pneumonia), be recorded as cause of death. HIV attacks the body’s immune system, so that simple illnesses and infections, without intervention, can become fatal.

The UNAIDS/World Health Organisation Aids Update states that during 2007, 33.2 million people were living with the virus, 2.1 million died of AIDS and there were 2.5 million new infections. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the worst affected region with HIV/AIDS as the leading cause of death. South Africa has the largest number of HIV infections in the world with infection rates varying from 15% in the Western Cape to 39% in Kwazulu Natal.

Recent years have seen great advances in medical treatment and management of the virus. Prevention is no longer the only solution. Now treatment and care have been added to the tool kit and since 2001, the world’s response to the global pandemic we face has been revitalised with the introduction of global financial aid. Millions of those living with the virus can now access life saving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.

However, treatment is still not available to all. Poverty remains the plumbline which measures the impact of the virus on local communities, and the shame and stigma attached to diagnosis still cause many at risk to refuse to take the vital test which will reveal their HIV status. Those who do not know their HIV status ultimately risk not only their own premature death but also the possible infection of those they love.

Infection rates in many areas continue to rise, especially amongst women who are more at risk because of their anatomy and because of sexual coercion, abuse and rape. In 2007, 61% of HIV positive adults in sub-Saharan Africa were women. Many of these women are married and their only sexual partner is their husband.

So, how can the church respond appropriately to the pandemic?

Consider our great heritage:
Many have gone before us who set great examples of the gospel in action:

‘Medical care was spread all over the world by a small army of dedicated men and women who often died abroad of the very disease that they went out to fight... As a result of their work, churches in Africa, Asia and South America are the fastest growing in the world, at a rate greater than the current birth rate. These men and women were driven by an overwhelming compassion for those without care or hope. For them, bringing treatment and care was bringing the love of God’ (Patrick Dixon, The Truth about AIDS).

The statistics never fail to shock me although I quote them on a regular basis. As I run workshops, I find that people are overwhelmed by the devastation being wrought by the HIV pandemic. When we study the stats, I try to focus delegates and students on the gospel, because it is the only true route to behavioural change and we know that behavioural change is the key to arresting spiraling HIV infection rates.

Sadly, we are not always the best agents of our faith; I have known of Christians in our churches who have died of HIV-related illnesses rather than face the shame of acknowledging their status. We know that those who can share their ‘positive’ status with family, church and friends stay healthy, and live longer, more active lives. Secrets are not good for us!

So I point students towards Jesus’ response to the Samaritan woman in John 4 and marvel again at how he affirmed her and yet was able to challenge her behaviour and offer himself as a route to salvation.

Much grace is required to love, support and advocate for those living with the virus. Since none of us is without sin, I ask workshop participants, ‘Who amongst you can say that you have never committed any act for which you have felt regret or shame?’

For those who receive an HIV-positive diagnosis, their greatest problem is often their own sense of failure and guilt. But we share a gospel which removes guilt and enables a change in behaviour and liberation in Christ.

Acknowledge that we are on mission together:
Matthew 24:13-14 tells us that ‘The one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.’

Our churches should be places of safety where the gospel is practically demonstrated according to Matthew 25:36. We are not NGOs or charities bringing aid and compassion. We are God’s expression of His presence on earth and that should release us into mission.

A fundamental part of that mission should be the removal of stigma and guilt through the example of church leaders who know their HIV status, and are prepared to be tested if they do not, leading their churches in speaking about this virus and its effect on our communities.

Aim to please God not men:
Ephesians 6:6-8 exhorts us to ‘do the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is slave or free.’

Sometimes we are called to advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves, to expose injustice and fight against it, to partner with those who are already involved in a way that honours God and displays the gospel in action. People trust the church. We should not abuse that trust.

Be prepared to break the silence:
HIV is surrounded by stigma because of its connection to sexual behaviour. Over 96% of transmissions happen as a result of unprotected sex. (Needle-stick injuries, hospital accidents and mother-to-child-transmission make up the remaining 4% of transmission.)

As Christians we should not ask, ‘How did you become infected with HIV?’ but rather our question should be, ‘How can we help and support you to live with the virus?’

Here is one little boy’s story

He lives in a rural village in South Africa

‘I was six years old when my mother died. She had AIDS. I now live with my grandparents and cousins who take care of me. I want to be a teacher when I grow up. I was sick with chest pains and was coughing so my grandmother took me to the clinic for a test – I have AIDS. Every week I go to the support group at the clinic where I meet other people with this sickness. There we learn about medication. I am very thankful and happy, as I will now live a long life.

‘Every morning and every evening at supper I take my pills. I can run faster and I have energy. I tell my friends about the pills and they are happy to see me stronger. They know I have AIDS and everybody is kind. At school I am finding that I can learn better; I think my mind is working better now. Yesterday I went with granny to a big AIDS day meeting where I stood up to talk. I told them my name and how I got AIDS from my mother, because she didn’t know she had HIV and breastfed me. HIV was passed to me when I was a baby. She was unlucky because she didn’t get the pills in time. I am lucky because I do have the pills and they keep me healthy.

‘I take my pills at 6 o clock in the morning; I’m reminded by the sunrise and in the evening by the shadow of sunset. But during cloudy days I am reminded by the pupils attending morning classes at a nearby high school and in the evening by the arrival of cows in the kraals.’
As I have written this article I have been challenged again by the wonder of our gospel! HIV presents us with an opportunity to impact affected communities. It is an issue of public health and behaviour more than a sickness. Those of us not actually living with the impact of HIV can be involved through prayer, financial support and by becoming informed so that the reality of HIV can be confronted Biblically and with grace.

HIV/AIDS Focusing On The Positive

Nicky Welsh is currently heading up an HIV training and development initiative in Southern Africa. She is a member of Hope church, Durban, Kwazulu Natal and is married to Gary.

So, how can the church respond appropriately to the pandemic?

Here is one little boy’s story

He lives in a rural village in South Africa

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