World AIDS Day Is December 1

The Black Church's Role in HIV Prevention
by Pernessa C. Seele, Founder/CEO, The Balm in Gilead, Inc.

Note: The wealth of perspectives and opinions expressed by the authors on the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice website do not necessarily reflect those of RCRC, its member organizations, its state affiliates, the National Black Church Initiative, or/and La Iniciativa Latina. The Religious Coaliiton for Reproductive Choice, through its National Black Church Initiative and La Iniciativa Latina, is committed to faithfully engaging in assisting religious communities in breaking the silence on issues related to sex, sexuality, and religion.

African peoples throughout the world are at war with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the causative agent for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The AIDS epidemic has preyed upon our fear, ignorance, lack of leadership in mobilizing prevention strategies, and our non-support of people infected and affected by the disease. Throughout the world the AIDS epidemic is completely out of control. Every day approximately 5,000 individuals worldwide become infected by HIV. In Uganda, 10,000 new cases of AIDS are reported each month, and already 500,000 children have been orphaned in that country. Over 60% of the world's AIDS cases are found in sub-Saharan Africa. In the United States over 75% of all women infected with HIV are African-Americans; over 80% of all children in the United States with HIV are African-Americans. The infection rate among black teens in the United States doubles each year. Wherever AIDS is present, whether in South America, Europe, North America, Australia, Asia or in the Caribbean, statistics reveal that Africans and those in the African Diaspora are disproportionately affected by HIV/ AIDS.

The sad fact is that AIDS is 100% preventable. The question must be asked, therefore, why does this disease continue to wreak havoc in our global village? The World Health Organization (WHO) has projected that between 1995 and 2000, between 38 and 110 million adults will have become infected by HIV. AIDS is 100% preventable and yet is completely out of control.

Many factors contribute to the AIDS pandemic in the African global community. Poverty is perhaps the greatest of these, for often, African peoples, regardless of nationality, are faced with sub-standard living conditions under which sickness and disease are more apt to spread. Poor people are also likely to be without adequate health care and adequate health education.

HIV is transmitted through sexual contact and by blood-to-blood contamination via blood transfusion and sharing needles when engaging in illicit drug activities. Sexual contact is the primary mode of transmission of infection among African peoples. Sexual health, sexuality, abstinence and related topics, therefore, must be openly discussed in our homes and in our churches. In order to prevent the spread of HIV, we must be able to talk about sex with our children and face realities concerning the level of their sexual activity. We must also examine our own sexual behaviors and put to rest the vestiges of sexual myths. Education is the most effective weapon against HIV. We must provide educational materials, therefore, that are culturally relevant and spiritually focused.

Combating HIV requires bold, steadfast leadership. To stop the escalating slaughter of African peoples by HIV, we must seek and receive leadership from the Church. The Church remains the cornerstone of the African global community. The Church is the only institution that has the ability to mobilize the masses and disseminate appropriate information. It can be effective in doing so because it still enjoys the respect and the support of the people. In the face of a disease that is 100% preventable, our churches must begin to provide prevention education and to support those persons who are infected and affected by HIV .No longer can we afford the luxury of succumbing to the “NIMBY” syndrome: "not in my backyard." Only when churches are willing to admit that people living with AIDS are not “them;” only when our churches recognize that AIDS is not, by any stretch of the imagination, confined to those outside the faith community, can we begin to be effective. We look out over the casualties of the AIDS war — children homeless and orphaned; teens who for lack of information will become infected and who will not live to be 25; mothers suffering from abuse and obligated to have unprotected sex with their husbands who are known to be infected. We are numbed by the chilling fact that there is neither a vaccine nor a cure. All this causes us to ask the question: Is there a balm in Gilead? The answer is yes. The church, if we take the appropriate steps to organize, mobilize, educate and reach out, can indeed be the balm “that heals the sin-sick soul.”

The Balm In Gilead, Inc., a not-for-profit, independent organization in New York City, Richmond, Virginia, Washington, DC, and Tanzania works to prevent the further transmission of HIV among African peoples by mobilizing the religious community to address HIV appropriately and effectively. The Balm In Gilead develops education materials and programs, and provides support and technical assistance to churches desiring to give leadership in HIV prevention education to their congregations and community.

Pernessa C. Seele
Founder/CEO
The Balm In Gilead, Inc.

The Balm In Gilead is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to improve the health status of people of the African Diaspora by building the capacity of faith communities to address life-threatening diseases, especially HIV/AIDS. For 18 years, The Balm In Gilead has mobilized and educated Black churches to become centers for education, compassion and care in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The Balm in Gilead, Inc.
701 East Franklin Street Suite 1000
Richmond, VA 23219
Tele:(888) 225-6243, Fax:(804) 644-2257
e-mail: info@balmingilead.org, www.balmingilead.org

National Black Church Initiative Programs

"Keeping It Real!"
A faith-based sexuality education model to address teen pregnancy prevention and better provide young men and women with the resources needed to make healthy, responsible decisions as spiritual and sexual beings.
Learn more about "Keeping It Real!"

"Breaking the Silence"
A faith-based sexuality education model developed to assist local congregations, parents, guardians, and clergy address sex and sexuality to assist teens in making healthy life choices.
Learn more about "Breaking the Silence"

For more information on the Black Church Initiative, please call 202-628-7700
or email bciinfo@rcrc.org.