UNICEF HIV Advocacy Specialist urges churches to consider HIV a public health response

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.

27 March 2019
IMG_9882Ms. Shirly Mark Prabhu

“Churches should address HIV as part of their public health response instead of considering it as a separate issue. Churches have the capacity to respond to the need of the adolescents and children living with HIV, particularly in providing psychosocial support”, said Shirley Mark Prabhu, Adolescent Health and HIV Specialist in the East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office of UNICEF.

Speaking on the ‘Current Situation of Children and Adolescents Living with HIV in Asia’ at the Skill Building and Advocacy Training Workshop organized by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), Ms. Prabhu said, “There is a rise in new HIV infections among young people in several Asian countries but health care services and systems are not youth friendly in many parts of Asia. There is an urgent need to ensure that children and adolescents have proper access to services. In this situation, churches should talk about HIV with openness”.

“Young people accounted for almost one-third of new HIV infections in Asia and the Pacific in 2017 (UNAIDS Estimate 2018). While the total number of people living with HIV has been on a decline, the HIV prevalence among young key populations in certain countries are increasing. Adolescents are particularly faced with structural barriers that hinder their access to HIV testing, life-saving treatment and other health services (UNAIDS, HIV and YOUTH)”, she added.

 “There are many barriers to testing and access to treatment as young people have to take consent from parents and that has been very challenging. The location and identification of adolescents are essential in order to know the epidemic in their age group and to understand their needs in our response”, Ms. Prabhu explained.

Twenty four participants selected from member churches and councils of CCA attended the workshop held at the CCA headquarters in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 19 to 22 March, 2019.

Ms. Prabhu highlighted the importance of accompanying the adolescents living with HIV, especially in their transition from undergoing treatment under pediatric care into adult care. “There are changes in the settings of treatment, and these adolescents need someone they can rely on to ask things they don’t know and to guide them.”

In her closing remarks Ms. Prabhu added, “No single prevention approach can stop the epidemic alone. To meet the ambitious 2020 and 2030 targets, it requires focused combination packages that offer a mix of proven high-impact HIV prevention interventions. Combination prevention programmes for adolescent key populations should be evidence-informed and human rights based, including community empowerment and peer outreach”.

Based on their experiences, the participants highlighted the need to find an entry point to discuss HIV and AIDS, vulnerabilities to HIV infection and role of the Church in combatting HIV and AIDS. They also mentioned the need to document good practices by the churches and disseminate the information to government and other faith based organizations as well as with UN agencies in order to play a pivotal role in combating the epidemic.

The participants identified existing platforms in the churches to discuss such topics including the pulpit, Sunday Schools, youth camps, and women’s fellowships.

The skill building workshop was part of a series of capacity building training organised by CCA for HIV and AIDS advocacy facilitators from churches as part of CCA’s special programme ‘Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia’ (ATCHAA).