A Christian leader in Papua New Guinea says the country's churches need to overcome discrimination and stigma to make a real difference in combatting the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
PNG has extremely high rates of the virus, with a prevalence rate of about 0.5 percent, according to a 2013 UN AIDS report.
Andrew Hama, from the PNG Christian Leaders Alliance on HIV/AIDS, is organising a summit in March with the country's churches, government and NGOs, to try and coordinate their response.
Churches play a key role in healthcare and education in Papua New Guinea, and Mr Hama says they are key to helping combat the virus.
But he told Jamie Tahana the church also has to overcome some of its stigmas - particularly against the homosexual community - too.
Residents sell their goods near a anti-Aids billboard in Mount Hagen, 18 August 2007.
Photo: ANOEK DE GROOT / AFP
Transcript
ANDREW HAMA: The statistics, according to an estimate by UN AIDS, is up to 40,000 at the moment, but the epidemic as per the mid-term review by the National AIDS Council Secretariat-appointed independent review group [says] that our epidemic in the country is a concentrated one meaning that the epidemic is more focussed in the key population. So we are more focussed on addressing issues affecting the key population.
JAMIE TAHANA: The key population - could you elaborate on that a bit more?
AH: The key population meaning sex workers, men who have sex with men, lesbians, transgenders and people with diverse sexualities.
JT: OK so in those populations, what do you hope for the summit? How does the church hope to help these people who conflict with the church's beliefs?
AH: Previously, and most of the time, from critics and people like the churches condemning and discriminating and there's a lot of stigma that has been reported and so as the Papua New Guinea Christian Leaders Alliance, we're trying to organise the summit for the church leaders to take a more proactive approach in terms of responding to issues affecting the key populations. We do understand the churches are actually a major key player in terms of addressing HIV and AIDS on the ground in terms of implementing service delivery, prevention, treatment, care and support programmes. We understand that the churches are actively engaged in those areas but the stigma and discrimination part of it still remains a challenge, not only for the churches, but the whole country and we feel that the church leaders need to take a more proactive approach in terms of the coming together in the summit and then look at ways on how the church leaders can work together with relevant stakeholders and partners in terms of coming up with a possible way forward where we can work together in terms of addressing key issues which remain an impediment for the key population services.
JT: You mention this key role churches have in this fight against HIV/AIDS. What is this role and how significant is it?
AH: Last year, the country director for UN AIDS made a statement that the churches are doing more to address HIV in the country and Papua New Guinea has been recognised as the third country in the Asia-Pacific region with the highest HIV treatment initiation in the Pacific. This contribution was made by the churches, most of the treatment initiations are provided by the churches in the country and this is an achievement of the country.
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