Asian religious leaders affirm commitment to upholding human dignity of people living with HIV and AIDS

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).

No preference updated.

23 January 2023
Christian conference of Asia, Asia christanity

Participants of CCA's interfaith conference on ‘Towards Strengthening Interfaith Action Networks for Combating HIV and AIDS in Asia’ being held in Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand: The Asian interfaith conference on ‘Towards Strengthening Interfaith Action Networks for Combating HIV and AIDS in Asia’ (AINA) brought together leaders and representatives of different religions in Asia for a three-day summit.

 Organised by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), the interfaith conference began on 23 January 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand, and is being attended by seventy participants from all major religions across Asia—Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam.

 Dr Mathews George Chunakara, the CCA General Secretary, opened the event. He urged Asian religious leaders to deliberate upon strategies for working together and sensitising members of their respective faith communities to address the AIDS pandemic and mobilise communities for wider advocacy.

 The CCA General Secretary further stated that such a coming-together of all faith traditions was rooted in the common concern to uphold and affirm the dignity of fellow human beings.

 Dr Mathews George Chunakara outlined the CCA’s work on HIV and AIDS as a priority through broader partnerships with other faith communities, civil society organisations, and intergovernmental organisations such as UN agencies.

 Dr Salil Panakadan, UNAIDS Asia Pacific Regional Programme Advisor, Surapong Mitrakul, General Secretary of the Church of Christ in Thailand, and Dr Boonchuay Doojai, Chairperson of the AINA, also addressed the gathering.

 Dr Salil Panakadan shared the latest statistics; out of the 38.4 million HIV and AIDS cases in the world, six million were in Asia and the Pacific. Despite the increasing cases in Asia, Dr Panakadan expressed optimism in ending the AIDS pandemic because of the strong commitment and presence of faith community leaders who were engaged in such work.

 He went on to remind the participants that AIDS was not over and there was still an essential need for faith-based organisations to serve the excluded and marginalised sections of society. Such commitments could be strengthened by embracing new approaches such as virtual interventions and the promotion of self-test kits and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

 Surapong Mitrakul called for faith-based organisations to offer holistic healing that did not just cater to physical health but also addressed the deep scars and wounds inflicted by society through stigma and discrimination.

 Dr Boonchuay Doojai highlighted the significance of a strong network that worked on the prevention of HIV transmission, supported the care of people living with HIV and AIDS, and developed enhanced insights into the causes of HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

 The three-day international conference will address a wide range of pertinent issues related to the emerging trend of HIV and AIDS in Asia and advocacy measures specific to Asian faith communities.