Charges for HIV tests to be scrapped

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).

First Preference:
Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)
Second Preference:
Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)
15 April 2004
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

SCMP - Thursday, April 15, 2004

JOSEPHINE MA in Beijing
Charges will be dropped for HIV tests on the mainland in an attempt to identify more carriers of the virus, China Central Television reported yesterday.

The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance announced that the tests must now be offered free of charge, putting an end to the practice whereby local health authorities charge for the procedure.

Local health authorities charge 80 to 100 yuan for HIV tests, and in some regions where there are a high number of Aids cases, villagers are even forced to pay for compulsory tests.

In Wenlou village in Henan, villagers are required to pay a 20-yuan deposit when they get an HIV test. The money is returned if the test results are positive.

Prominent Aids activist Gao Yaojie welcomed the move and said the central government should have provided free testing a long time ago. "Not many people can afford that much for the tests," she said.

In impoverished villages devastated by Aids, 100 yuan can be several months' income for some families.

The announcement said test results would be kept confidential, but Dr Gao said this should not be used as an excuse to cover up the extent of the epidemic.

"They should be open about the number of HIV carriers and the cause of transmission," she said.

The central government will pay for the costs of HIV tests in impoverished areas with high infection rates, but local governments will have to foot the bill in other areas.

There are officially 840,000 people with HIV and 80,000 with full-blown Aids on the mainland, but activists believe the real number could be 10 times higher because many people are reluctant to get tested either out of fear of discrimination or because of the cost. The United Nations Aids agency says the number of people infected on the mainland could rise to 10 million by 2020 without more aggressive prevention efforts.