Church leaders have been asked to be at the forefront in the fight against HIV and Aids by openly testing for the virus.

In a meeting held in Nairobi, the men of the cloth expressed concern that in spite of a high awareness rate, HIV infections continued to rise especially among people living in sub-Saharan countries.

Speaking during the opening of the Churches United Against HIV and Aids in Eastern and Southern Africa (Cuaha) meeting, Mr Hannu Happonen said some churches were doing a disservice to the fight against the disease by carrying out miracle healing prayers.

“In Africa, we don’t talk about sex, we practise it…However, it is time we started talking about sex in a bid to reverse the trend,” he said.

Bishop Cosmos Moenga urged churches to promote safer sex practises, especially among their congregations. As leaders, the clerics should be at the forefront in reversing the rate of HIV infection, especially among the youth.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church bishop from Botswana urged various churches to speak with one voice in fighting the disease in their various countries.

Cuaha is a network of more than 40 churches drawn from the Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Orthodox and Pentecostal churches in Finland and several African countries which include Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Executive director of the International Network of Religious Leaders Association Chabu Kangale called for concerted efforts among the leaders to overcome shame, stigma, discrimination and denial among those infected by HIV.

“These are the evil (words) some of us use in labelling those who are living with HIV and Aids in our midst and we need to overcome them in order to realise gainful inroads in the fight against the pandemic,” added Mr Kangale.

A goodwill ambassador with Christian Aid, Canon Gideon Biamugisha, urged the church to aim to provide accurate information on HIV to effectively fight stigma.

A Ugandan national, Canon Biamugisha has been living with the virus for about 20 years and was among the first clerics to publicly reveal his HIV status.

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