Pentecostalism and AIDS treatment in Mozambique: creating newapproaches to HIV prevention
Source: http://hivthisweek.unaids.org/
Fellow Colleague!!! Still in the happy mood of having presented the first
ever CrowdSourced document on behalf of young people to UNAIDS in the way
HIV/AIDS should be addressed for young people, Please read below;
Pentecostal fervour has rapidly spread throughout central and southern
Mozambique since the end of its protracted civil war in the early 1990s. In
the peri-urban bairros and septic fringes of Mozambican cities African
Independent Churches with Pentecostal roots and mainstream Pentecostals can
now claim over half the population as adherents.
Over this same period another important phenomenon has coincided with this
church expansion: the AIDS epidemic. *Pentecostalism and HIV have travelled
along similar vectors and been propelled by deepening inequality*.
Recognising this relationship has important implications for HIV prevention
and treatment strategies.
The *striking overlap between high HIV prevalence in peri-urban populations
and high Pentecostal participation suggests that creative strategies, to
include these movements in HIV programming, may influence the long-term
success of HIV care and the scale-up of anti-retroviral treatment across
the region.*
The provision of antiretroviral treatment has opened up new possibilities
for engaging with local communities, especially Pentecostals and African
Independent Churches, who are witnessing the immediate benefits of
antiretroviral therapy. Expanded treatment may be the key to successful
prevention as advocates of a comprehensive approach to the epidemic have
long argued.
My Comments: So glad to see the Pentecostals doing this advocacy..... A
vaccine shall surely be possible soonest, i believe.
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Many Thanks
Yours' in Prevention Science