Faith PLH

Faith HIV                                                                                            8/11/24

By Joe Caperna

AIDS 2024 Int Conf Munich

No abstracts were found with search terms religion, spirit, spiritual, or spirituality.  Search term “faith” found 4 abstracts.  A study from Zimbabwe reported by a reverend/physician Dr Rev    found that Uzwelo (or compassion in Swahili) led to patients returning and staying in care and taking their HIV medicines.  There were no abstracts on faith, religion, spirituality from rich countries. 

In general, reports were about clergy and faith-based organizations helping in their unique way, to help PLH with stigma, and also literally be trained and then volunteer to fill gaps in health care worker duties, including prevention messaging, HIV treatment and linkage to care.

SUSTAINING HOPE FOR ALL – Through 2030 and beyond

Organizer(s): UNAIDS – PEPFAR Faith Initiative, with the World Council of Churches (WCC), Caritas Internationalis (CI), the Africa Christian Health Association Platform (ACHAP), the Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA+), Islamic Relief, The Academic Consortium of the UNAIDS – PEPFAR Faith Initiative (Emory University, Atlanta and St Paul University, Limuru Kenya), UBtheCURE, HIV Vaccine Trials Network Faith Initiative, United States HIV/AIDS Faith Coalition, the Interfaith Health Platform and International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD)

Faith leaders at the interfaith pre-conference of the 25th International AIDS Conference in Munich 2024.     Photo:  Lyn van Rooyen/IHP

AIDS 2024 Faith Abstracts

Faith-engaged community posts expand HIV case finding, treatment and viral suppression among men in Zambia in the context of COVID-19, April 2018 – March 2022

Susan Hillis, United States, THPEC260

 in Zambia, to increase access of HIV facilities.  Circle of Hope (CoH), a local faith-based organization, developed the community post (CP) model. CPs are staffed by a multi-disciplinary team offering a range of services including HIV testing, anti-retroviral treatment (ART), and viral load testing. We summarize the effect of these CPs on HIV case finding, ART initiation, and viral load suppression among men.  Basically, faith-based workers were trained in certain healthcare worker duties, volunteered and were hugely successful.  More men presented to the CP model.

The COH model was successful at identifying men living with HIV, almost 14,000 tested and 6000 HIV-positive persons identified, reported in the abstract. 

Alex Muhereza, Kenya TUPED347 

“Navigating HIV challenges through interfaith collaboration through the UNAIDS-PEPFAR Faith Initiative”

The interfaith approach involved identification of 20 national Christian Health Associations and religious leaders, establishing connections with the Interfaith Health Platform to facilitate coordinated activities. Additionally, 15 targeted HIV prevention messages were designed and disseminated during sensitization sessions by faith leaders.

In Zambia, 50 faith leaders were trained in Gender-based violence (GBV) as a key driver of HIV spread. Subsequently, collaborative stakeholder dialogues on GBV prevention and response were held, fostering a unified front among faith leaders, NGOs, and government departments.

Faith leaders endorsed a call to action and developed action plans, established a robust referral network with other SGBV stakeholders, and initiated media campaigns against SGBV.

Tabitha Washington
United States

TUPED400 Saving souls, healing bodies: faith-based HIV outreach to Black communities in New Orleans.

Faith-Based HIV Outreach to Black Communities in New Orleans was designed to tackle this issue by educating clergy, congregants, and clinicians in New Orleans and offering HIV screening at local church-based health fairs, specifically, Louisiana Freedmen Missionary Baptist Association).

309 people attended the health fairs, 132 were educated on HIV prevention and treatment, 465 were screened for hypertension, diabetes, or other conditions, and 61 were screened for HIV

Again like the other studies presented at AIDS 2024 about faith based organizations, clergy were trained in duties of healthcare workers, volunteered and succeeded, served large numbers that otherwise would not have been helped.

Because the congregants were educated about HIV by a trusted source (clergy/pastor), stigma some individuals feel about HIV testing may be ameliorated.

Pilirani Banda Malawi WEPED352 

“Harmonizing faith and health: collaborative strategies for effective HIV interventions – Lessons from Malawi”

Ministry of Health (MoH) and Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) coordinated HIV/AIDS activities,

 Use of religious stewards and volunteers optimizes the reach of the community in the human resource constrained public health system thereby ensuring sustainability.

Francesca Merico ItalyWEPED373 

“Engaging Faith Champions to enhance demand creation of paediatric HIV services”

In Zambia, an integrated health service delivery approach within places of worship led to a 15% increase in the identification of HIV-positive children compared to non-faith community sites (2018 – 2021).
Nigeria’s congregation-based HIV testing during Baby Showers significantly improved testing rates among pregnant women (with a 93% linkage) and their male partners, who were 12 times more likely to know their status (2013 – 2014).

Joseph Amon United States WEPEF669 

“The role of faith-based organizations in combating HIV and tuberculosis stigma in Jamaica, Côte d’Ivoire and Ukraine”

Worked to increase HIV awareness, testing and f/u to care, gender-based violence, reduce stigma and increase HIV awareness in vulnerable groups:   with Catholic Priests in Cote d-Ivoire, Council of Churches in Jamaica and Greek Church in Ukraine.

Empathy Efison Dhodho Zimbabwe THPEE619

“Enhanced engagement for individuals with interrupted HIV treatment through person-centered empathetic communication (“Uzwelo/Empathy”): a quasi-experimental study”

Not a Chat-bot, a report of patients feeling better after their human healthcare worker used Uzwelo, or empathy, when compared to other humans not using Uzwelo.  Bravo.