Zimbabwe Methodists confront AIDS crisis

Christian Century, April 5, 2000

United Methodists in Zimbabwe are developing a plan of action to deal with a problem that is devastating their country: the HIV/AIDS epidemic. "More than any other disease, HIV/AIDS has proved its ability to disrupt the social fabric of the community," said Betty Gittens, an executive with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, during a February 8 briefing. Gittens helped organize a recent consultation in Kadoma, Zimbabwe, that focused on education, awareness and prevention training about HIV/AIDS.

The church's action plan includes:

* Encouraging responsible behavior;

* Promoting AIDS education and awareness within congregations;

* Reducing the stigma attached to those infected with HIV;

* Providing counseling to people infected with HIV and to family members;

* Addressing the needs of children orphaned by AIDS;

* Developing home-based care programs.

According to the United Nations, AIDS has become the leading killer in Africa, responsible for 20 percent of all deaths. On a continent besieged by war, AIDS kills even more people than armed conflicts do. A UN world population survey in 1998 found that one of every rive adults in Zimbabwe was infected with HIV, with the high mortality rate significantly affecting both its population and growth. In addition, 25 percent of youth between 15 and 19 years old were HIV-positive.

"Cultural, social and economic factors make women more likely to contract AIDS than men," Gittens said, adding that women also bear the burden of care for sick family members. A report released by the UN last November showed that of the 22.3 million adults infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, 55 percent were women.

The impact of the disease on families has been immense. A UN report released last December 1, World AIDS Day, revealed more than 11 million children have been orphaned by AIDS since 1981 and that all but 5 percent of those children live in sub-Saharan Africa.

Despite these statistics, Zimbabwe's government has been in "major denial" about its AIDS crisis and is just now making the political commitment to address the problem, according to Gittens. And while individual churches have tried to deal with the epidemic, "what needs to be done is to come up with an overall AIDS policy" for the denomination, she said.

Basic education about the disease is a first step. United Methodist Bishop Christopher Jokomo, based in Harare, has declared that such education must take place in all local churches. He commissioned all the consultation participants--including clergy, laity and youth--to return home and begin implementing the action plan.