United Methodist
Global AIDS Fund
AIDS is a Global Problem
• 33 million people have HIV/AIDS
• About 1.1 million people in the U.S. are
living with diagnosed or undiagnosed
HIV/AIDS
• Africa has 11.6 million AIDS orphans.
• Every 6 seconds new HIV infections occur
• 22 million have HIV/AIDS in sub-Sahara
Africa
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
Paul’s Words
Galatians 4:13-14 (NLT)
“Surely you remember
that I was sick when I first
brought you the Good
News of Christ. But even
though my sickness
tempted you to reject me,
you did not despise me or
turn me away.
No, you took me in and
cared for me as though I
were an angel from God
or even Christ Jesus
himself.”
Compassionate Response
• United Methodists are responding to the
HIV/AIDS crisis through the United
Methodist Global AIDS Fund.
• The fund was established at the 2004
General Conference to raise $8 million.
Supported Global AIDS Fund
Projects 2005-2008
• 78 projects in sub-Saharan Africa
• 23 projects in Asia
• 5 projects in Latin America & the
Caribbean
• 3 projects had an international reach
-----------109 projects in 30 countries
United Methodist Commitment
• $8 million represents a $1 commitment
of every United Methodist in the U.S.
• To support education and prevention
programs.
• 25% of Global AIDS Funds raised in
each annual conference are used by that
conference for AIDS-related work.
It’s something the church can
do so well…
Cries From the Heart
• "I cried daily and had nightmares of taking my body apart
and rinsing each and every part under hot water, even
using bleach.“
Robert Sullivan, an HIV/AIDS survivor in the U.S.
• "Over the years, the HIV/AIDS issue has been one of my
passions. It's a preventable disease. It bothers me so
much. We, as a church have fallen behind in doing our
part to educate. We need to step up.“
Rev. Mary Bullis, Desert Southwest Conference
AIDS Task Force chairperson
• “These existing prevention strategies can be very
effective in reducing the risk of HIV exposure, but,
there's more work to be done in training others so that
each person can inform another.“
Dr. Kasanka Mwan Ngoie, a Global Ministries’
Missionary for North Katanga Annual Conference, DRC
• “The impact of HIV/AIDS is devastating our community
especially within African Americans. HIV/AIDS is the
number one killer for both African American men and
women between the ages of 25 and 44.”
Schaunta James-Boyd, Saint Mark United Methodist
Church, Wichita, Kansas
United Method
Global AIDS Fund Programs
1. Education and prevention
2. Testing and counseling
3. Health care and support for people living
with HIV/AIDS
4. Care of orphans and vulnerable children
5. Advocacy
Education and Prevention
1. Education and Prevention
• More than one-third of funds go to support
education and prevention.
• Education is offered in schools, churches,
hospitals, and communities—under trees,
at truck stops, on streets through drama—
wherever people meet, however they can
understand, remember, and pass on the
information.
• Community health workers and youth
are trained to reach their communities.
• They promote abstinence, faithfulness,
and the use of condoms.
• Measures are taken to prevent motherto-child transmission of the virus.
Testing
…and Counseling
2. Testing and Counseling
Benter Adhimabo shares her story from Kenya:
“My husband succumbed to HIV/AIDS, but we
did not know the cause of his ailment. Later, I
started having ill health and became
bedridden. A community health worker from
St. Paul’s Methodist Health Center asked me
to get tested. I was positive. Now, I am
healthy. I have a successful business thanks
to a grant and training I received from St.
Paul’s. I want to tell people that those with
HIV/AIDS can live positively.”
“People with HIV/AIDS can live positively”
Benter Adhiambo
received prevention of
mother-to-child
transmission services.
In 2008, Adhiambo gave
birth to a baby boy named
Jared. Now 18 months
old, Jared is HIV-negative
and healthy.
Health care and support for
people living with HIV/AIDS
3. Health care and support
•
Community education and advocacy include
people infected with and affected by the virus.
•
Health care and support includes treatment of
related infections and health problems,
including malnutrition.
•
People with HIV/AIDS are given a referral for
antiretroviral therapy and follow-up.
•
They receive vocational training and
employment opportunities.
•
They receive home-based care such as
washing, cooking, bathing, and collecting
firewood.
Home-based care providers in Zambia
are equipped to visit patients by bicycle.
Mobile Medical Teams in Armenia
test for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in
high-risk areas.
Orphans and Vulnerable
Children Programs
4. Orphans and Vulnerable
Children
“I am the head girl of the orphanage. When my
parents died of HIV/AIDS life became very
difficult for me. From the time I joined the Front
Porch Orphans group, I feel I am not an orphan
because God has given me new parents who do
everything I need in my life.”
Lizzy Kaonga, an AIDS orphan in Zambia
“God has given us new parents”
Orphans and Vulnerable
Children
There are many facets of children’s needs:
• A loving new home and community
• Community selection that supports
guardians and children
• Formal and informal education
• Vocational training and small loans
• Orphans become their siblings’ parents
Advocacy
5. Advocacy
• Advocacy is about representing
affected and infected people to their
families, community and government.
• Advocacy is working towards policies to
protect people, provide services and
opportunities.
• Advocacy is securing financial and
other types of assistance when work is
no longer possible.
There IS hope.
AIDS is preventable.
AIDS is treatable.
And EVERYONE is acceptable.
Respond to HIV/AIDS.
Give to
The United Methodist
Global AIDS Fund
UMCOR Advance #982345
www.umglobalaidsfund.org