Biblical mandate, church response, HIV/AIDS, social justice, social action

Transcription

1 1 Paper HIV/AIDS, the Biblical Mandate and Social Action Ediomo-Ubong Nelson Overview Organization Insight Bible Church, Nigeria Issues Biblical mandate, church response, HIV/AIDS, social justice, social action Background Nigeria has about 3.5 million HIV infected persons, a figure that easily qualifies her as the third largest population of PLWHAS in the world, after India and South Africa. The first cases of HIV infection were diagnosed in 1986, and the adult prevalence increased from 1.8% in 1991, to 4.5% in 1996 and 5.8% in 2001, but declined to 5.0% in 2003 and 4.4% in 2005 (FMOH, 2006). An estimated 2.86 million people (2.62 million adults and 238, 000 children) were living with HIV in Nigeria by the end of All 36 states of the federation of Nigeria have general population prevalence over 1% among pregnant women. Furthermore, while states in the North West and South West have lower HIV prevalence, Benue (10%) and adjoining states have a high concentration of HIV prevalence. Overall, urban sites generally have a higher HIV prevalence than rural sites, excerpt in the South East where the reverse is the case. Young people aged are increasingly vulnerable to HIV infection in Nigeria. Available estimates indicate that over 6% of Nigerian youths (15-24 years) are living with HIV. The epidemic in Nigeria is associated with numerous negative consequences, notable among which is high AIDS mortality and the soaring number of children orphaned by the

2 2 disease. In 2003 alone 800, 000 AIDS orphans were added to an existing 7 million orphans in the country. Current estimates put the projected number of orphans from all causes at 8.2 million children. In 2005, 1.3 million children between the age range of 0 17 years lost one or both parents to AIDS in Nigeria. Apart from children who are made vulnerable because of orphaning and HIV/AIDS, a growing number of children are vulnerable due to poverty, conflict and gender inequality. HIV/AIDS and Social Justice The concept of social justice refers to fairness in the distribution of society s benefits and burdens. In recent history, few phenomena have highlighted the nature of injustice in the human society like HIV/AIDS. The different dimensions of the epidemic reveal the fissures of inequities and injustices in the organization of society at all levels. For example, gender disparity in the distribution of the disease burden is now common knowledge. Sexual intercourse is the most dominant mode of transmission of the disease and women are at greater risk of infection with HIV through sex. Sexual inequality in the transmission HIV is reinforced by socio-cultural practices such as polygyny, early marriage of the girl child, widow inheritance, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), commercial sex work, violence against women and other atrocious practices that increase women s vulnerability to infection with the disease. Furthermore, societal stigma and discrimination against people living with AIDS (PLWAs) has fueled widespread denial of the disease, drive PLWAs into hiding and makes it difficult for them to access social support and services, including anti-retroviral drugs. It has also encouraged blame-shifting, aspersions and human rights abuses.

3 3 The uneven distribution of the burden of the disease between the so-called developed and developing countries has already been noted, where Sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of the epidemic both in terms of morbidity and mortality. There is also inequality in availability of health infrastructure and the capacity to contain the spread of the disease between these sectors of the global society. Similarly, the social, political and economic factors driving the spread of the disease such as high level of poverty, squalor, endemic conflict and population displacement, youth unemployment and predisposition to crime and high risk behaviour are almost concentrated in the developing world. Social injustices are also evident in the politics of international response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. In his thoughtful and deeply provocative book, International Politics of HIV/AIDS: Global Disease - Local Pains (2008), Hakan Seckinelgin contends that in the international health policy system HIV/AIDS is conceived to be an African problem, and is treated in abstraction from the international context within which the disease is produced. He further argues that in the process, HIV/AIDS has become a global political and public issue while those who are living with the disease (in Africa) are marginalized and have become an abstract target group for global help. Hakan s arguments are better understood within the broader context of colonial politics and medical interventions in Africa during the colonial era, where diseases and solutions to them were considered as worthy of attention to the extent that they were relevant to the concerns of the colonial powers with little or no reference to the needs of the people who suffered from these diseases. In keeping with this history, the contemporary focus on HIV/AIDS as a global health problem is due not so much to the rapacious consequences of the disease among Sub-Saharan African population, but to its relevance for the interests of international actors. This may be seen

4 4 in the way scientific research on AIDS cure has been handled and in the international politics of anti-retroviral therapy. It partly accounts for failure of international HIV/AIDS policy to have any meaningful impact on the disease in the sub-region. In the past, social justice was not considered to be part of HIV/AIDS interventions. The epidemic was treated strictly as a developmental and health problem and not as a social and political matter. However, thinking has evolved and there is growing consensus among researchers, activists and policy makers that HIV/AIDS epidemic is located at the confluence of social, political, economic and cultural processes and that for effectiveness issues of justice, equity and human rights must be mainstreamed into HIV/AIDS policy and interventions. This has brought about increased focus on the human rights and social justice dimensions of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in both policy and action. Special programmes have been designed to address gender and human rights issues in the spread and impacts of HIV/AIDS in local communities and social, political and economic barriers in access to Anti-retroviral drugs for PLWAs in Africa. But there is need to intensify these activities as well as increase the tempo of advocacy for social justice, equity and respect for human rights as a foundation for an HIV/AIDS-free society. What are the roles of the church in this process? Are we to view the epidemic as a challenge or an opportunity? What is the rationale for a Christian action to stem the impact of HIV/AIDS in our society? Is there a biblical mandate for the church to act in times like these? If there is, what have we done with it? In what ways are we actively engaging with the problem of HIV/AIDS in our domains? These questions should constantly exercise our minds as we consider integral mission and the place of the church.

5 5 The Biblical Mandate and Social Action As an issue of social justice, HIV/AIDS is worthy of attention from the Christian community. The church is supposed to be in the fore-front of denouncing social injustices and discriminatory practices that facilitate the spread of the disease. Preachers should follow the tradition of the biblical prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos and Micah, who condemn injustices and oppression. From their pulpit, preachers of the gospel should decry injustices in our society, calling for repentance and necessary reforms. But they should be careful not to moralize the problem by condemning PLWAs as sinners, thereby fueling stigma and discrimination against them. They should make a passionate call for socio-political transformation and renewed political will in the fight against the disease on the part of the government. But we should not only talk; we should also be actively involved in this fight. HIV/AIDS gives us an opportunity to demonstrate the love of God to a love-starved world. Jesus taught that when we show love and care for the less-privileged around us we are doing so to Him (Matthew 25 46). In the same way, when we neglect these ones we are neglecting Him. By caring for those who have been stricken down by HIV/AIDS and supporting those who are affected by the disease, we affirm the love of God for them and warm them up to receive the personification of this love, Jesus Christ. But the flip-side is also true; when we ignore the needs of those whose lives have been made miserable by HIV/AIDS and refuse to take action to alleviate their plight, we contradict the message of God s love that we bear and complicate the task of evangelizing these people. The scripture makes is clear that the credibility of the gospel message rises or falls on the integrity of the message-bearers. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus taught that when men see our good deeds, they retort with thanksgiving to God (Matthew 5: 16). This is just like saying

6 6 that when people see our deeds of love, they are compelled to reckon with God. The love of God demonstrated through loving deeds by God s people makes God real to a Godless world. God seems to be remote and distant until we flesh Him out through acts of love. The misery associated with HIV/AIDS gives us the moment to make God real to our world. In practical terms, the church should get actively involved in providing various kinds of care and support for those infected with and/or affected by HIV/AIDS. These include providing nutritional support, scholarship and housing programs for AIDS orphans and vulnerable children. They could also provide community-based care and support for PLWAs in collaboration with local support groups and community-based organizations working at the grassroots level. Churches and other Christian organizations should budget for HIV/AIDS intervention, recruit and train volunteers and mount prevention and VCT programs for vulnerable groups such as youths and women. In short, there is no limit to what the church can do in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Final Word! We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. We occupy an important position in God s plan for our world. Our presence and influence is what holds the world together; without it the world will disintegrate and fall apart. HIV/AIDS is a disaster for the world, but for the Church of the Lord Jesus, it is an opportunity to manifest our essence and extend the frontiers of the kingdom of Christ. But we must rise to the occasion, because if the salt have lost his savour it is henceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men (Matthew 5: 13 KJV).