Asian interfaith actions proposed at interfaith consultation on strengthening HIV and AIDS advocacy in Asia

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

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31 January 2020
IMG_5042Participants at the Interfaith Consultation on Strengthening HIV and AIDS Advocacy in Asia

CHIANG MAI, Thailand: The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) organised a regional consultation to intensify interfaith HIV and AIDS advocacy collaborations in Asia.

Held at the CCA headquarters from 27–31 January 2020, twenty-five participants representing different faith-based organisations (FBOs) and religions from Asia as well as networks of People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIV) attended the consultation.

In his opening address, Dr Mathews George Chunakara, the General Secretary of the CCA, stated that the interfaith consultation organised by CCA as part of its Action Together in Combatting HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA) programme was a significant move to revitalise the wider coalition of interfaith advocacy networks, especially for stimulating the activities of the Asian Interfaith Network on AIDS (AINA).

“In its efforts to strengthen HIV and AIDS advocacy, the CCA is resolute in accompanying all member constituencies and beyond, and thus the CCA is committed to facilitating the creation of interfaith and civil society networks by providing a common platform. This is to strengthen advocacy efforts to combat the spread of HIV and AIDS in Asia,” added the CCA General Secretary.

Venerable Phramaha Boonchuay Doojai, the Chairperson of AINA, said that he was grateful for this timely support of CCA. “Most people prefer not to engage in conversations around HIV and AIDS because of the discomfort and stigma surrounding it. An interfaith consultation such as this sets a positive precedent and invites other Asian faith communities and networks to work in this space,” said Venerable Boonchuay, who is a prominent Buddhist monk committed to promoting interfaith collaborative actions to combat HIV and AIDS.

Elucidating the Buddhist perspective, Venerable Boonchuay spoke of maha karuna, or ‘great compassion’. “Whoever desires to serve the Buddha should first desire to serve sick persons,” he explained. He provided numerous examples of the work of Buddhist monks in responding to HIV and AIDS in Thailand. He reported that their work had led to a reduction in infection rates, stigma and discrimination, thus impacting Thai society both directly and indirectly.

The Islamic perspective was shared by Siti Suginai, a young woman representing the Komisi Penanggulangan AIDS (KPA) in Indonesia.

“Though there is tremendous stigma around sexual freedom and drug use in traditionally conservative societies like Indonesia, Muslim communities are called upon theologically to serve the underserved,” added Suginai. Explaining the religious impetus to do so, she quoted the Quran saying that ‘whoever saves the life of one person saves the lives of all’.

Dr Ronald Lalthanmawia, Coordinator of ATCHAA, spoke on the Christian perspective and emphasised the need to stop considering HIV-AIDS as an issue of morality or sin. He called for developing an inclusive theology that was grounded in compassion, care, and support.

Sessions to share best practices and challenges saw participants make grounded, contextual, personalised, and pointed presentations for beneficial cross-learning between the countries represented.

Khawn Taung, the General Secretary of the Myanmar Interfaith Network on AIDS (MINA) shared the journey of MINA and spoke of how different faith communities had put aside their differences and collaboratively worked on issues.

Sujan Thapa, the President of the National Association of People Living with HIV in Nepal (NAP+N), informed participants about their work in addressing HIV and AIDS. PLHIV in Nepal have secured health insurance for care and treatment as a result of the organisation’s advocacy initiatives.

Wangda Dorji, from the Bhutan Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (BNP+), which is the only civil society organisation operating to address HIV and AIDS in Bhutan, delivered a moving presentation. He shared his journey as a person living with the virus and the struggles he faced when publicly disclosing the same. He also spelt out the possibilities of reaching out to faith leaders in Bhutan who could use their respective organisations and networks to influence society and reduce stigma and discrimination.

The participants undertook an evaluation of their own organisations and institutions through an Assessment Framework which enabled them to determine the extent of their contributions in addressing HIV and AIDS.

Developing an action plan, the participants resolved to strengthen and revive national interfaith networks on AIDS, and also initiate networks in countries where they do not currently exist.