Christian and Muslim leaders in Nigeria have renewed their commitment towards ending stigmatization and discrimination of People living with HIV (PLHIV), especially in worship places.
They stressed that there is an urgent need to make places of worship more accommodating so that people with HIV can seek solutions, rather than being stigmatized and discriminated against.
Lafiya360 reports that the religious leaders further stressed that while some people may be living with HIV, it is the responsibility of religious institutions to show them love, and ensure that they get the right information about testing and treatment, which will put an end to transmission and death from HIV in the community at large.
Speaking during a dialogue meeting of interfaith leaders and PLHIV to address stigmatization and gender injustice, the Regional Director, International Community of Women Living With HIV, West Africa (ICW-WA), Mrs. Reginald Assumpta, stressed that for the country to achieve zero new infections by 2030, religious bodies must play critical roles in eradicating stigmatization and discrimination of PLHIV in places of worship.
She said, “Our objective is to contribute to the formulation of strategies and pathways to effectively address and alleviate the prevailing stigma and discrimination within diverse faith groups. Regrettably, the places where many individuals living with HIV, especially women and adolescents, should ideally find solace—the church or mosque—often become sources of additional distress.
“These sanctuaries for prayer and psychosocial support from religious figures such as Imams, Pastors, priests, and congregations, sometimes harbor negative sentiments. It is disheartening that some perceive personal characteristics, such as irresponsibility, as the cause of their infection. Recognizing and addressing the issue of stigma and discrimination is paramount.”
In his remarks, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Gambo Aliyu, who was represented by the Senior Programme Officer at the Agency, Emeka Nwafor, said: “Stigma and discrimination is a big issue in HIV response, and for us to achieve the 2030 target of ending transmission of HIV, we need to deal with it judiciously.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about HIV, and stigma and discrimination is still booming. Hence, religious leaders play a critical role in disseminating the right information and ensuring an end to stigma and discrimination of PLHIV, especially in worship places and in the community.”
In his remarks, the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), Rev. Dr. Evan Onyemara said, “When it comes to the issue of tackling stigmatization and discrimination of PLHIV, we have been working with the World Council of Churches on advocacy since 2015, to ensure that the society has the right information. We have been engaging with different leadership and memberships with christian leadership and theological associations of not less than 30 million. We have also engaged teachers and Sunday school leaders.
“We are concerned about the issue of stigmatization of PLHIV in all our national assemblies. We will ensure that through the women, youth wing, and all directorates, we will carry the issue of discrimination towards total eradication.”
Secretary-General of the Jama’at Nasril Islam, Sheikh Khalid Abubakar, added: “It is heartwarming to see religious leaders coming together to solve a problem bedeviling humanity. This means that they are trying their best to establish a harmonious environment where humans and non-humans can live in peace.
“We need to make the place of worship more accommodating so that people can come for us to solve their problems and not compound the problem. We need to bring people on board, regardless of their background, condition – sinners or non-sinners.”