Zambian Catholic Diocese Issues Urgent Call to Support Children Living with HIV

Lusaka, 22 July, 2025 / 4:45 PM

Zambia’s Catholic Archdiocese of Ndola is calling for intensified action across all sectors of society to confront the HIV crisis in the Southern African nation, where an estimated 58,000 children aged 0–14 are living with the virus.

In a Monday, July 21, statement following the latest United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Global Report on HIV, the Director of the Pontifical Mission Society (PMS) in the Ndola Archdiocese highlights the urgent need for the people of God in the country to protect and support children affected by HIV.

“These are not abstract statistics. These are our children. The children in our homes, schools, parishes, and streets. Their pain is our responsibility,” says Fr. Kelvin Bwalya in reference to the July 2025 report, which also places the number of adolescents aged 10–19 living with the virus in Zambia at 65,000.

Fr. Bwalya cautions that without urgent and intensified efforts, “the next generation is at risk of repeating the tragedies of the past,” even though effective tools such as antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV testing, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) are readily available.

“As the UNICEF 2025 report makes clear, we know what works — but we are not doing enough. We have the medicines, the methods, and the moral duty,” he says, emphasizing the need for bold, compassionate, and coordinated action.

To address the HIV crisis in the Southern African nation, where UNICEF also estimates that nearly 600,000 children have lost one or both parents to AIDS-related causes, the PMS official says religious leaders have a responsibility to allow their churches to become “places of welcome, healing, and accompaniment.”

“Break the silence from our pulpits. Confront stigma with truth,” he urged religious leaders in Zambia, emphasizing the role of spiritual leadership in dealing with the HIV crisis.

Fr. Bwalya appeals to the Zambian government and health authorities to “intensify and sustain efforts” to prevent mother-to-child transmission, particularly in remote and underserved areas where “there is still a gap in access to maternal health services.”

He says the government should ensure that health centers across the country maintain consistent stocks of pediatric HIV medicines and test kits.

For him, expanded maternal services will ensure that every woman has access to antenatal testing, counselling, and HIV care.

He urged families and caregivers to embrace and support children living with HIV “with love and openness,” emphasizing the importance of testing all children and initiating treatment promptly for those who are infected.

“Let us replace silence with support. And let us never stop speaking up for our children,” said Fr. Bwalya, as he urged the faithful across Zambia to break the silence and stand in steadfast support of children affected by HIV.

He called for an end to the shame and fear surrounding HIV, saying, “Let this be the generation that chooses life over silence. Let Zambia rise to protect her children.”