The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Religious leaders strengthen resolve to intervene in AIDS prevention

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 08, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Religious leaders strengthen resolve to intervene in AIDS prevention

Special Correspondent

Faith-based organisations needed at district level: former Chief Election Commissioner

COMMON CAUSE: T.S. Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner; Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, Prince of Arcot; Swami Agnivesh of Arya Samaj; and D.K. Sahu, secretary, National Council of Churches of India, at a conference in Chennai on Saturday. — Photo: S. R. Raghunathan

CHENNAI: Leaders of different religious groups met on Saturday to consider ways by which an inter-faith task force could impact the battle against HIV/AIDS.

At the inaugural session of the second international inter-faith conference on prevention and control of HIV/AIDS at the Indian Institute of Technology here, representatives of various faiths strengthened their resolve to intervene in HIV/AIDS prevention.

Anand Tiwari, of UNAIDS, highlighted the positive role that faith-based organisations had played in Uganda. Akhtarul Wasey, secretary, South Asia Inter Religious Council, reiterated the commitment made at the first inter-faith conference held in Delhi in December 2004 and called for the formation of an inter-faith task force to develop a faith-based perspective on HIV/AIDS and promote collective action.

Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali said Islam and Christianity advocated loyalty and abstinence. Advancing the moral argument over the condom campaign, the Nawab said it was time to return to the cultural traditions of the country.

Swami Agnivesh of Arya Samaj also dealt with the question of values and the "over-emphasis" on condoms. Unless sacredness was associated with values, it would be difficult to overcome problems such as HIV/AIDS. Faith-based organisations, he said, were like a parallel establishment with good influence on people.

Bishop D.K. Sahu, secretary, National Council of Churches of India, called for a move from the macro to the micro level in handling HIV/AIDS.

George Deikun, Mission Director, USAID, released a handbook on faith-based organisations involvement in combating HIV/AIDS, brought out by VHS-APAC. He said the epidemic continued to spread to rural areas, and pockets were emerging in North India where HIV prevalence was two per cent or higher. He, however, advocated a comprehensive approach, covering vulnerable groups and people with different sexual orientation.

Suneeta Singh, of the World Bank, said religions should find ways of reaching their followers.

T.S. Krishnamoorthy, former Chief Election Commissioner, said the country provided paths for religions to walk in where politicians and bureaucrats had failed. He suggested that faith-based organisations be set up at the district level.

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