Taming HIV And AIDS In Ghana: Churches Impact

On every December 1, Ghanaians join the rest of the world to celebrate theWorld AIDS Day. The celebration is indeed of no exception since every effort is being made to fight the pandemic through various ways.

Twenty- four years have seen significant inroads, with life-prolonging drugs, more funds for prevention and treatment, more knowledge leading to increased awareness and openness and less stigma. Such developments may lead some to wonder whether HIV and AIDS - of all the urgent challenges facing Africa - still deserve privileged attention.

HIV and AIDS continues to be the leading cause of death in the continent, home to 22 million HIV-positive or two-thirds of the global total of 33 million, according to 2007report. In the developing world, although improved access to antiretroviral therapy means that fewer people are dying, treatment is reaching less than one-third of those eligible.

The number of AIDS orphans has swollen and their myriad needs are scarcely being met. Millions in Africa are still mired in deprivation and ignorance that put them at high risk of contracting HIV, as much dedication as ever is needed to turn the tide against the pandemic. Yet why dedicate energy, resources and expertise to what seems one problem among so many?

No wonder, the belief that HIV and AIDS is a curse and can be contracted through witchcraft is still lingering in the minds of some people some parts of the African continent, even among some Ghanaians. The act of stigmatization is also still in practice while people living with HIV and AIDS think that they do not have any future and they patiently wait for the time they will die. But there is hope for them that are having faith in God.

HIV and AIDS is a crisis of enormous spiritual, social, economic and political concern and increasingly, it is a problem of the youth. Overcoming HIV and AIDS and the stigma that fuels its spread is one of the most serious challenges of our time.

As a matter of fact, it requires courage, commitment and leadership at all levels, especially among religious leaders who can use the trust and authority they have in their communities to change the course of the pandemic.

The multi million question which may be baffling many people is why religious leaders? As we all know Churches have the strength, credibility and are grounded in communities. This offers them the opportunity to make a real difference in combating HIV and AIDS.

How many Ghanaians know that there is a difference between HIV and AIDS or know that 114 service delivery points provide Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) with ARV combination therapy in Ghana and that Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) services are free to people who walk to the clinic to know their HIV status?

Many Ghanaians fear of going for an HIV test or knowing their HIV status because if it proves positive, it is like receiving a death threat or sentence. Some are also threatened to death just by the suggestion that they should be tested for HIV and the reason they always evoke is a psychological one.

Do you know your HIV status? This is a question I posed to some youthin Accra and the similar response I get from them is 'The psychological effect of knowing one's status kills faster the disease itself, so I prefer to remain without knowing than to know.'I told them in response that even though it might be true, it is still advisable to do the HIV test but must go through counseling first since it was free.

Reports that the current national adult prevalence rate of HIV and AIDS had dropped from 1.9 percent in 2008 to 1.7 percent in 2009 should gladded the hearts of Ghanaians.

There are reports also that currently 240,000 Ghanaians were estimated to be living with the virus, with HIV prevalence among pregnant women rising to a peak of 3.6 percent in 2003.

However, Ghana Sentinel Survey report for 2008 reveals that the number of cases among pregnant women declined to 2.2 percent with major mode of transmission still being through heterosexual intercourse.

As of September 2008, about 20,688 people with advanced HIV infection are receiving ARV combination therapy at the various delivery points.

According to statistics from the Ghana AIDS Commission, the median HIV prevalence from Anti Natal Care (ANC) was 2.2 per cent in 2008 with the national prevalence of 1.7 per cent. The 2008 ANC rate 0f 2.2 is an indication of a drop from 2.6 in 2007 and 3.2 percent in 2006.

Ghanaians should take seriously the warning by the Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr. Angela El-Adas that there could be possible increase in HIV and AIDS cases in the country because of pockets of high prevalence rate among certain sub-population and geographical areas.

Inaugurating the Ghana AIDS Commission in Accra last year, President John Evans Atta Mills said that the reduction in the rate of infection should not be construed that the country's fight against the disease should be relaxed or was over.

The drop in the rate of the scourge should rather ginger members of the commission to re-strategise on ways to further reduce the rate of infection in the country, he added.

The President declared: 'There is a lot of work to be done in respect of fighting altitudinal change and the rehabilitation of victims of the disease, majority of whom had been stigmatized.'

In addition, said President Mills, those who passed away did leave behind children who had to be taken care of by their relations, most of whom were financially challenged.

To respond to these challenges, Churches have to be transformed in the face of HIV and AIDS crisis, in order that they may become a force for transformation- bringing healing, hope and accompaniment to all afflicted by HIV and AIDS.

The Catholic Church is of no doubt in the forefront in health care delivery in Ghana including the HIV pandemic. Despite the Church's strong and legitimate position on condom use, the Church in Ghana is involved in providing humane treatment to People living with HIV and AIDS, which has led to real and visible progress.

Already the Catholic Church in Ghana has over the years been campaigning against the spread of the deadly disease, through its Centre for Human Development (CEHUD) Department of the National Union of Ghana Diocesan Priests' Association as well as home-based care programmes for people living with the pandemic through Catholic Health Institutions at Agormaya, Nkawkaw, Kumasi, Koforidua, among others. But there are still many areas uncovered which will need the support of benefactors and benevolent donors through HUMANITY INTERNATIONAL.

' For I was hungry you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, in prison, you visited me what you do to the least ones you did it for me' (Matthew 25:31-40).

One of the saddest things that can befall any human being is to be neglected and ostracized by either family members or society or both as a result of sickness or mishap.

It was one of this reasons why the 'Matthew Chapter 25', a formidable partner in the fight against HIV and AIDS was established to help check the spread of the pandemic, offer care and support to People Living with HIV (PLWHIV) and their orphans whilst sensitizing them to be bold and go out to tell the world the disease was real.

In doing that, PLWHIV are encouraged to feel that they were also human beings and see the disease as any other ailment which can befall man. Many a time when people get infected by the disease they are sadly rejected and neglected by family members and friends.

According to Rev. Msgr. Alex Bobby Benson, a Priest of the Koforidua Diocese in Ghana and Director of Matthew 25, 'Society forgets that the disease is no respecter of persons and that anyone can fall prey irrespective of one's social, political, religious or economic background.'

The idea of the establishment of Matthew 25 was conceived in 1996 when Msgr. Benson was studying in the United States of America (USA) as a student Chaplain, where two people living with HIV were brought to him and his colleagues in one of their classes.

'I was touched so much after they had spoken to us and I hugged them, sat and chatted with them. It was then that I realized that people living with HIV were also humans, who needed to be encouraged diverse ways. Before, I said I will not get nearer to them because I was afraid but my action broke the barrier', Msgr. Bobby Benson said.

When he came down to Ghana in 1997, remembering the experience he had when in the USA, he decided to help in his small way as a support base by opening a center at the old Parish Hall of St. Anthony Church at Akwatia where he was then the Parish Priest and christened it 'Matthew Chapter 25 Project', which started in 1999 with nine HIV patients who met every Thursday at the Parish Hall and later increased to 20.

At the time, Rev. Sr. Miguela Keller, Primary Health Care Coordinator of St. Dominic Hospital at Akwatia where Msgr. Benson was posted to, had already started a programme by meeting with PLWHIV and offering them herbal medicine free of charge. As the number grew, a new Center was built at Koforidua where PLWHIV meet to be counseled by resource persons, given nutritious food, medical care, support for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), and engagement of the PLWHIV in incoming generating ventures like batik tie and dye, processing cassava for gari, palm oil extraction and funeral undertaking.

Currently the Matthew 25 House has a total of 90 adults with 64 on antiretroviral treatment (ART) and 95 OVC.

The effort of Matthew 25 House was so timely becauseinterestingly, the Eastern Region of Ghana where the Matthew 25 House is located has always topped the Regional prevalence, even though the national prevalence had reduced according to the 2008 sentinel Survey report, the eastern region still occupies the first position on the national chart with a prevalence of 4.2 per cent.

Some PLWHIV felt rejected by families and society while others felt they have no future, no hope, distressed but, alas, Organizations like Matthew 25, and the Catholic Health Service through its numerous HIV and AIDS programs have indeed helped to reverse the negative perception people have about people living with HIV. What Matthew 25 is doing is not enough at all, many more help is needed to save the people.

It was time for people to know that PLWHIV have talents, capacities, privileges, intelligence and opportunities. However, these will remain largely untapped unless opened through their (PLWHIV) own decisions and efforts towards a common voice in advocacy to enhance the general being (human rights, care and support) of the infected and affected families.

This will in turn help to further reduce the spread of the HIV infection in Ghana through sharing of personal experiences on positive living, education and counseling of people on Counseling and Voluntary Testing (CVT).

In 2005, when the First National Persons Living With HIV and AIDS delegates' Conference was held in Ghana under the theme 'the Voice of Positive Ghanaians in the National HIV and AIDS response', it came to light that it was aimed at mobilizing all Associations or HIV+ Support Groups in the country to form a functional and sustainable National Network, a body that will coordinate all the activities of the HIV infected persons in Ghana.

Indeed, the Conference did achieve its aim by mobilizing the remaining 70 percent of PLWHIV who were hiding and languishing in their homes because of denial and stigmatization to join the fight in Ghana.

Traditionally in Ghana, the nuclear and extended families served as the main support for individuals. If a member fell sick, the family would delegate someone to help the sick person as well support any children involved. At present, however, many families are already under stress due to lack of financial resources and diminished cohesiveness in the extended family system which often result from urban living, has in a way made it difficult for many families to take care of the sick.

HIV and AIDS carry with its social stigma which should never be encouraged. Possible revelations of infidelity, commercial sex work or secret sexual affair may produce negative attitudes that could lead to a rejection.

The principles of compassion, leadership and moral responsibilities that people of all faiths are embracing are urgently needed to halt the spread which has been a perceived threat to family and spiritual well-being.

As the pandemic spreads wide, the country loses its most productive vibrant citizens. Not only do families lose parents, spouses and breadwinners but the society also loses farmers, teachers, religious leaders and health care workers, among others.

Though the prevalence has reduced by some margin, Churches are uniquely poised to break the silence by acknowledging suffering and reaching out with compassion to the excluded and rejected. Churches have the power to end guilt, stigma and discrimination and open the way to reconciliation and hope, knowledge and healing and prevention and care to all manner of people living with the pandemic.

Report from the Ghana AIDS Commissionindicates that the HIV/AIDS infection rate has made some 160,000 children orphans in the country and about 170,000 children less than 15 years of age were living with the pandemic, while 60 percent of women aged between 15 and 49 years were also infected by the end of 2007.

It is important to encourage communities and churches to address HIV and AIDS within their own borders and similarly families need to be discussing the pandemic-protecting themselves and educating their children especially about sexual abstinence which is the best method of contracting or transmission of HIV and AIDS.

As we may all know God designed sexual relation as a gift to be enjoyed within the context of marriage between man and woman. Abstinence is the mark of dignity in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Abstinence was and is a virtue that is cherished by all sectors, institutions and religions in society. Long before HIV and AIDS was detected, our traditional, Christian and Islamic religions, have preached abstinence and marital fidelity and still continuous to preach it. Therefore the presence of HIV and AIDS should even make it more possible for us to abstain and uphold our dignity.

'The Catholic Church is not in favour of the use of condoms even as an HIV and AIDS preventive device. Rather, she teaches that the surest way of avoiding the HIV infection is total abstinence from illicit sex and fidelity in marriage.

One of the reasons for the continuous rise in HIV and AIDS cases in Ghana could be attributed to the over insistence on safe sex through the use of condom. This is an incomplete AIDS education given to our young people. The condom gospel does not teach the whole truth about HIV transmission. People should be educated to refrain from illicit sex, marital fidelity and drug abuse.

Much work is already being done in many sub-Saharan countries across Africa. But more is needed in the area of providing leadership in communities, schools and universities, in parishes and families: integral support and pastoral care; education for orphans; advocacy for real universal access to treatment; value-based education as a solid basis for prevention; social, cultural and theological research.

In fact, treatment, good nutrition, pastoral care and support are still far from accessible for many who need them. Humanitarian Organisations like the HUMANITY INTERNATIONAL hasa unique contribution to bring to the struggle against HIV and AIDS and its commitment to face AIDS until it is no more.

Ghana stands the crossroad in many ways but most especially in the spread and impact of the pandemic. Its threat is so devastating and destructive than the threat of war. Thus the battle lines have been drawn, this battle is not for the mind of the fainthearted but for the courageous and the wise.

For those who are HIV positive, let us show concern to them because human life, even in weakness and suffering is always a gift from God. As we prepare to celebrate 2012 World AIDS DAY, let us again see the image of God in these people and for those who have the misconception that HIV and AIDS is a curse from God should erase the idea because even innocent people are contracting the pandemic, that more reason why we must shoe compassion to them.

The battle against HIV and AIDS is our battle. If you are not infected, you are affected in one-way or the other. Let change our behavior to uphold our dignity as people created in the image and likeness of God.

Msgr. Benson Speaking To Students On HIV /AIDS