God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

11/05/2009 • 6:00 am Comments Off on 05.11.2009 Theological conflicts are possible

05.11.2009 Theological conflicts are possible

Theological conflicts are possible, so Pope Benedict XVI in his sermon yesterday and he acknowledged, while theology wants to spark love towards God, there can be a different approach which can lead to conflict and dispute.

I am happy to hear such sentences, as I always have the feeling that the culture of debate is very underdeveloped in our church. Anxiety is a permanent threat accompanying hierarchical systems because everybody is anxious not to draw negative attention of superiors and even destroy the changes to climb up the career ladder.

The pope took the example of Bernhard de Clairvaux and Pierre Abelard who argued heavily in the 12th century about the secret of the revelation. He emphasised that the common grounds of both have been their intention to keep up the love, truth and faith which should be a basic rule to assume when two theologian argue with each other.

Lets hope that this all applies also for the topic of HIV and AIDS within the church.

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, Reflection, , , , ,

11/04/2009 • 11:15 am 1

04.11.2009 Positive clergy

At the end of my stay in Germany I have had a meeting with a representative of the Archdiocese of Munich to discuss with him several matters. One was my request to the Archbishop of Munich to support my work in the fields of HIV/AIDS when it comes to priests, religious, clergy being positive. It is a tricky question but a very important one: how we deal with those amongst us, who are HIV positive.

I will visit in the near future some South African bishops as well to discuss this topic and to try to bring it to Rome. “It will raise some eyebrows”, so a member of the papal council for health care worker in Rome, but he also sees it as necessary to face this question. For me it has to do with justice within the church – all what we proclaim outside how to deal with people being HIV positive we must apply within the church. A long way to go, but all starts with the first mile. And I am grateful to all who are part of this new project.

www.hopecapetown.com/poz

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, Networking, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

10/29/2009 • 6:53 pm Comments Off on 29.10.2009 A day to remember…

29.10.2009 A day to remember…

The 29.10.2009 is a special day for me – it is the day, where HOPE Cape Town was launched officially in 2001.  It was a day I remember clearly: the drive to Tygerberg with a guest in my car who just had been given a positive test result. Clem Sunter giving a talk for the 150 man/women strong audience, a priest, a rabbi and an imam giving the blessings, the invited sangomas who were not that welcomed in the “academic environment” at that time, the buffet done by the Rotary ladies afterwards.

A day not to be forgotten – it changed my life forever and 8 years later, I can say that nothing is as it has been before that time. HIV and AIDS, these topics seems today to be my destiny – my life portfolio and I get more and more the sense, that I am – after 8 years – not be at the end of my way but only at the beginning. And this is sometimes scary to sense, to feel and to know. It is a topic, a red line in my life now, that I have never called for, but that without asking entered my life and took over in so many ways. AIDS activist, condom priest, rebel in the church – how many titles did I earn in the last years – and how many in my own church feel uncomfortable to get associated with me? On the other hand: How much love, how much support did I get from all ways of life in the last years. How many emails, letters did I receive as an answer on my book, the talks and workshops, the sermons and whatever way I was asked to give input in this field of the pandemic.

curse and blessing – and all the grey areas in between – but one is for sure: This topic has opened to me a world I don’t want to miss anymore – this topic has given me the chance to meet people in a way, which one can call indeed real encounters of hearts and minds and souls. I don’t want to miss one of them.

Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Reflection, , , , , , , , ,

10/27/2009 • 7:30 am Comments Off on 27.10.2009 … and in Africa..

27.10.2009 … and in Africa..

JOHANNESBURG – AFP reports: — African leaders were urged Thursday to increase efforts to end HIV infections among children and women, in the world’s worst affected continent.

Speaking at the launch of the Campaign to End Pediatric HIV-AIDS, activist Graca Machel said that only two countries in Africa spent a target of 15 percent of their budgets on health. “You tell me next time we meet how much is being spent in wars and defence…but how much is being spent in health, how much is being spent in agriculture to produce food for our kids,” Machel told delegates. Sub-saharan Africa is home to 1.8 million of the world’s two million children infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Mother-to-child prevention and treatment coverage currently averages 30 to 40 percent against a target of 80 percent. “We need the international community to commit, to meet their obligations, but we have to show commitment ourselves no matter how small our budgets might be,” said Machel, who is married to South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and a member of the group of senior statespeople known as The Eld”We will not get there when African leaders do not get moved, they do not get moved by the hundreds of thousands of people who are dying on this continent when we know that this can be prevented,” she said.

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, Politics and Society, , , , ,

10/27/2009 • 5:30 am Comments Off on 27.10.2009 In between in Europe…

27.10.2009 In between in Europe…

Press Release European Commission:

A strategy for combating HIV/AIDS in the EU and neighbouring countries 2009-2013

Today, the Commission has renewed its efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in the EU and neighbouring countries by adopting a strategy for the period 2009-2013. Effective HIV treatment exists but there is still no cure or vaccine against AIDS. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the EU and neighbouring countries has increased from 1.5 million in 2001 to 2.2 million in 2007. Approximately 730,000 of these people live in the EU. With 50 000 newly diagnosed HIV cases in the EU and the neighbouring countries alone in 2007, there is no time for complacency. Disparities exist between the numbers of HIV cases and the different modes of transmission across Europe. The strategy tackles these differences by concentrating on 3 key areas: HIV prevention and HIV testing, priority groups most at risk of HIV and priority regions. The strategy is accompanied by an action plan which illustrates concrete steps, target groups and evaluation tools that can be used to measure progress.

EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said “We need to continue the political momentum in the fight against HIV/AIDS. We need to encourage people to take responsibility for themselves and their partners by talking about and practicing safe sex and going for HIV testing. However, this needs to go hand in hand with the respect for the human rights and non discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS. We have treatment options today that can delay the outbreak of AIDS for many years”.

Objectives

The overall objectives of this Strategy are: (i) to reduce new HIV infections across all European countries by 2013, (ii) to improve access to prevention, treatment, care and support and (iii) to improve the quality of life of people living with, affected by or most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS in the European Union and neighbouring countries.

The strategy calls on all key actors including national authorities and NGOs to work on:

  • improving information for all, especially targeting young people who have missed the successful HIV communication campaigns in the past
  • addressing migrants from countries with a high prevalence of HIV to make them knowledgeable on preventing transmission, HIV testing and treatment options
  • improving policies targeting, in particular, the populations most at risk, emphasising human rights, and addressing discrimination and stigma associated to HIV/AIDS

Priority regions

HIV infections are particularly high in the neighbouring countries of the Union. Exchange of good practices on prevention, testing, treatment and care between countries is important. This is especially beneficial in times of budget constraints. The cooperation and know how transfer of doctors, nurses and public health experts as well as the sharing of quality data will help colleagues in neighbouring countries to improve evidence based prevention, state of the art testing and treatment services, and to improve surveillance. Such joint efforts will reduce new infections and improve the life of people living with HIV/AIDS and underline the value of good cooperation between neighbours.

Priority groups: most at risk populations

The strategy reiterates the fact that the biggest impact on the epidemic can be achieved when the situation of the most at risk populations is efficiently addressed. The major at risk populations in Europe are men having sex with men, accounting for about 40% of all new infections in the EU, migrants from high prevalence areas, and injecting drug users, with a share of up to 70% of all new infections in EU neighbouring countries. Tailor-made approaches to reach these groups are essential towards containing the epidemic in Europe.

Early testing and timely access to treatment save lives

Of particular concern is the high number of persons who are not aware of their infection. About 30% of people in the EU and up to 70% of people in several neighbouring countries do not know their HIV status. This presents a serious concern for policy makers. Late diagnosis usually leads to late treatment and hence to a reduced life expectancy, a lower quality of life and to an increased danger of transmitting the virus to partners.

Background

The European Commission is involved in the fight against AIDS at European and Global levels. The first strategy on combating HIV/AIDS in the EU and neighbouring countries, adopted in 2005 laid the foundations for today’s updated strategy. A number of key achievements relate to a stronger political commitment, involvement of civil society at European level, the operational centralisation of HIV/AIDS surveillance by the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), efforts to facilitate access to affordable antiretroviral medicines, funding of prevention projects and programmes, investments in research, and a close cooperation between partners.

More information:

http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_threats/com/aids/aids_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/health_problems/hiv-aids/index_en.htm

MEMO/09/479

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, Politics and Society, , ,

Blog Categories

Follow God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE on WordPress.com

You can share this blog in many ways..

Bookmark and Share

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,711 other subscribers

Translation – Deutsch? Française? Espanol? …

The translation button is located on each single blog page, Copy the text, click the button and paste it for instant translation:
Website Translation Widget

or for the translation of the front page:

* Click for Translation

Copyright

© Rev Fr Stefan Hippler and HIV, AIDS and HOPE.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Rev Fr Stefan Hippler and HIV, AIDS and HOPE with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

This not withstanding the following applies:
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.