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Jesuits in Africa Call for Concerted Efforts in Fight against HIV/AIDS

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By Magdalene Kahiu

Nairobi, 03 December, 2023 / 8:52 pm (ACI Africa).

The President of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) has called for collaborative efforts to fight HIV/AIDS.

In his statement on World Aids Day that was marked on Friday, December 1, Fr. José Minaku noted that while the world has witnessed significant progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the war against it is not over.

“A calamity may touch a few, but its solution involves all,” Fr. Minaku said, and added that the fight against HIV/AIDS “cannot be left solely to an individual or a few” but “must be a shared responsibility.”

“The efforts of all stakeholders, including young people, engaged in transparent, accountable, and sustainable innovations will bring a swift resolution to the challenge,” he said.

The priest emphasized the need for concerted efforts to fight the pandemic saying, “An African proverb says that a falling tree will crush innocent babies, but when the webs of a spider join together, they can trap a lion.”

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He said efforts “must go beyond health and medicine to touch all dimensions of well-being.”

“Effective solutions must put the affected community and those infected by HIV and AIDS at the center,” the member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) says in his message for the annual event marked on December 1 since 1988.

This year, the event is celebrated under the theme “Let the communities lead!” 

In his message, the JCAM President observed that the 2023 theme “rightly recognizes the agency of the affected people and their communities while admitting the futility of action that excludes the active participation of every member of society.”

“It emphasizes the importance of thinking and acting together. It is a pronouncement that no such problem belongs to one person,” he said and added, “Let the communities lead” is a call to engagement for all, a call to collaboration in the mission of the Lord.”

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Magdalene Kahiu

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.

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