Hope for African Children Initiative "Children in Africa are being crushed by HIV/Aids. More than 14 million have lost one or both parents. Many are sick, suffering cruel deprivations, and are frightened and alone in a world where no one seems to care. Worse... these children are stigmatized, made to feel ashamed by the source of their suffering."

Religious leaders, men and women, from more than 25 African countries came together in Nairobi in June for the first-ever multireligious gathering to address the impact of HIV/Aids on Africa's children and families.

The opening plenary was marked by a powerful presentation by Salim Yasin, a seven-year-old Kenyan boy who lost both his parents to Aids. Stephen Lewis, special advisor to the UN secretary-general on HIV/Aids, and Carol Bellamy, executive director of UNICEF, also spoke. Later, participants visited local community programmes that are caring for orphans and other vulnerable children affected by Aids.

Seeing the problem at first hand combined with Salim's testimony to create a strong commitment among the participants to become more engaged in the fight against HIV/Aids and its impact on children, particularly in leading efforts to reduce stigma, mobilizing their own religious communities, and advocating with governments for stronger policies and more resources. The final declaration and plan of action demonstrate these commitments, and the decision to form an African Religious Leaders Council under the auspices of the World Conference of Religions and Peace (WCRP) signalled a readiness to work in collaboration across religious and national lines.

"From the smallest village to the largest city, at district, national, and international levels, religious organizations offer the largest social infrastructure to provide care and support, to share information, and to mobilize community responses," the assembly said. "Fully 90% of HIV/Aids care workers in Africa are women of faith, and we gratefully recognize and commend their efforts."

The religious leaders acknowledged that they had not fully unleashed their communities' capacity for action. "Our messages have not always been consistent and our voices have not always been heard. We have been reluctant to speak openly about HIV/Aids. Too often our own ignorance, fear and denial have held us back as teachers about HIV/Aids in our communities."

They committed themselves:

to defend the dignity of every person, to break the silence and stigma that haunts those affected by HIV/Aids, particularly children;
to encourage mutual respect, healthy relationships and sexual integrity among all persons;
to help make available clear and accurate medical information on how HIV is spread and methods to stop its transmission; and
to urge their governments to commit more resources and more energy to combating HIV/Aids, especially to addressing the needs of children, and to hold adults accountable for the tragedy of child abuse.

They appealed to the wealthy nations of the world to honour their commitments to increase HIV/Aids funding, and to ensure that Africans suffering from HIV/Aids have access to essential medications. Noting that HIV/Aids is not just a health issue, but a development issue as well, they called on them immediately to cancel outstanding debt.

The leaders signed a letter to the children to be read in houses of worship across the continent. This letter was read and presented symbolically to two children during the closing plenary, and the participants were sent forth with a powerful charge from Gideon Byamugisha, an HIV+ Anglican priest from Uganda.

The assembly, convened by the WCRP, was held as part of the Hope for African Children Initiative, a partnership of NGOs dedicated to expanding community-based programmes to address the needs of children in Africa affected by HIV/Aids. It began with forums for youth and women delegates, which helped strengthen their participation in the Assembly.

Among those present were many Reformed leaders, including Setri Nyomi, general secretary of WARC, who is a WCRP president.

Nyomi chaired the last day of the assembly when the final decisions were made. "Christian, Muslim, Hindu, traditional African leaders and others committed themselves to work together to address the havoc that HIV/Aids is causing children on the continent of Africa," he told Update. "If these leaders go home and live by these commitments, we will begin to see concrete results." Addressing HIV/Aids is a priority for the Southern African Alliance of Reformed Churches (see separate story) and for other WARC member churches in Africa, Nyomi added.