CCA Organises HIV and AIDS Awareness Programme in Kingdom of Bhutan

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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29 August 2016

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“This is the first time for me and my friends to attend an awareness building training on HIV and AIDS; it has been very informative for young people of Bhutan. We could understand the seriousness of HIV and AIDS through discussions, games, workshops and other learning processes. I promise to share this awareness information to my friends and to share this information with as many as possible in Bhutan”, said Tsheyang Dema, a young lady from Thimphu, Bhutan, who attended the three-day training programme organized by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) from 17 to 19 August.

An awareness building training on Combating HIV and AIDS was organized by CCA in Paro, Bhutan was attended by 29 young people from different parts of the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan. The first case of HIV in Bhutan was detected in 1993 and since then, the number of HIV and AIDS cases detected through clinical and laboratory testing have been increasing in the country. The age of HIV cases reported are mostly among young people starting from age 19. However, the actual numbers of HIV cases are likely to be higher than the official statistics of the Ministry of Health in Bhutan. It is suspected that a large number of cases go undetected due to the low numbers of voluntary counseling and testing facilities, and the long asymptomatic duration during which HIV infection can remain undetected.

The topics during the two days training focused on understanding HIV and AIDS, Reproductive Health, Voluntary Counseling, Confidential Testing, and Pastoral Counseling, using a participatory method involving the participants.

“As  ecumenical ambassadors to propagate the message of the dangers of HIV and AIDS, all participants committed to go back to their respective places and share the information, especially the prevention message, to maintain the low prevalence of HIV & AIDS in Bhutan,” said Dr. Alphinus Kambodji, coordinator of CCA’s HIV and AIDS advocacy programme.