in Malawi - 76% Christian, 17% Muslim and 7% other religions • Source of comfort, security, meaning and strength • Church or Mosque central to the lives of many people and a place of convergence • Main source of pastoral support is the priest, pastor or imam. • Religious leaders can feel challenged by how best to offer pastoral support to members of their congregation who are living with HIV.
a wider 4 year programme with the overall aim to reduce women’s vulnerability to HIV - disproportionally affected by HIV (13.3% Vs 10.2%) • Aims to develop qualities, attitudes, knowledge and skills to communicate theological messages 1.Supporting positive response to the needs of PLHIV 2.Reducing women and men’s overall vulnerability to HIV through uptake of services, such as VMMC, VCT • Aligned to efforts already undertaken by local communities, government and NGOs to respond to HIV.
work? • Partnership with Malawi Interfaith AIDS Association • All major religious institutions involved – Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), Malawi Council of Churches (MCC), Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM), Seventh Day Adventists, Muslims and the Pentecostal and Charismatic faith groups. • Approach is to empower religious leaders with knowledge and skills in HIV from a gender and rights based perspective to lead in faith based responses through District Interfaith AIDS Committees. • Training is a critical component
with 120 faith leaders Community dialogue sessions Theological reflections to explore social norms and gender equality Faith Leaders Provide pastoral care Advocate for modification of harmful practices Champion stigma reduction Promote the uptake of services Community Reduced levels of early marriage VMMC Enhanced dialogue HTC promotion before marriage and among couples
engagement and advocacy with religious leaders from the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches on medication and divine healing. • Women’s participation in the district committees of the religious institutions continues to be an area of concern • Transformative work - long term strategy, as part of a long term engagement; no quick fixes! • Competing demands on religious leaders time / sustaining engagement and motivation to take part in this work
His Eminence Mufti Shamuuna Sosola Teacher and scholar Became active through MIAA 2009 Chair of the Salima DIAC Motivation: - Interfaith response - Giving back to the community - Complementary of roles Proudest moments: Convincing chiefs to pass by-laws Modification of initiation
Exhibition Monday 21st 12.30-14.30 Understanding how HIV prevention programmes influence women's vulnerability in Malawi N. Gumbo1, F. O'Reilly2, L. Sanudi3 1Trócaire, Maynooth, Ireland, 2University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, 3REACH Trust, Lilongwe, Malawi
hivaidscathconf
mraible
michaelherold
joshbly
denniskardys
rkendrick25
aleyda
chriscoyier
elsirapls
marktimemedia
csswizardry
kimpetersen
ryanjones
