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UNDP PRESS RELEASE: FIRST NETWORK OF ARAB RELIGIOUS LEADERS RESPONDING TO AIDS LAUNCHED TODAY IN CAIRO November 9, 2006
CHAHAMA: FIRST ARAB RELIGIOUS LEADERS NETWORK RESPONDING TO AIDS LAUNCHED TODAY
The CHAHAMA Network Will Support People Living with AIDS and Vulnerable Groups
Cairo, November 9, 2006, The First Network of Arab Religious Leaders Responding to AIDS was launched in Cairo today. The CHAHAMA network brings together diverse Muslim and Christian sects from 20 Arabs countries, joining men and women Religious Leaders responding as a united force for the first time in the Arab World. The network was launched in the conclusion of the Second Regional Religious Leaders Forum in Response to HIV/AIDS 6-9 November 2006, which was organized by UNDP’s HIV/AIDS Regional Programme in the Arab States (HARPAS) under the auspices of the League of Arab States.
“The motto for CHAHAMA is Religions in the Service of Humanity,” stated Dr. Lina El Hemsy, Lecturer, Kaftaro Islamic Center, Syria. “There is no greater service than our solidarity as Religious Leaders with Arab HIV Positive people working against stigma, discrimination and raising awareness about healthy, value-based behaviors in our congregations among men and women including non-discriminatory behavior.”
H.E. Mohamed Sayed Tantawy, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque and His Holiness Pope Shenouda, III Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church and President of the Middle East Council of Churches signed onto the historic Cairo Declaration in 2004 and strongly support the formation of the network as stated at the Opening Ceremony of the Forum, held under the auspices of the League of Arab States with special support from its Secretary General, H.E. Amre Moussa.
"We are very happy that CHAHAMA joins other networks in the region responding to AIDS including the Private Sector AIDS Business Coalition in the Arab Region (ABCAR), Regional Arab Network Against AIDS (RANAA NGO Nework), an stronger networks of People Living with HIV which promise to reinforce each other with knowledge, partnership and resources" said Mr. Walid Badawi, Senior Policy Advisor for UNDP's Regional Bureau in the Arab States.
“Now that religious leaders have come together we must not lose the momentum we have created. We have developed a plan of action to urgently respond to what is amounting to a region living on the brink of an epidemic” said Father Hady Aya, Antonin Maronite Religious Leader and Founder of the Organization for Justice and Mercy in Lebanon. “We created CHAHAMA understanding the great responsibility that has been placed in our hands to reach out to the communities we serve. We as women and men Religious Leaders not only in the Arab region but in the world have been the most active in the AIDS response. We will not fail our people and we will not leave one person behind regardless of the status of their health,” he asserted.
Today, three hundred religious leaders signed onto the CHAHAMA Pact, which agreed to implement six areas of work at country and regional level in the AIDS response, including:
1. Expanding membership in CHAHAMA based upon agreed criteria at the Forum including standing within one’s community and service work accomplished especially in the AIDS response.
2. Promoting chastity and dignity among men and women.
3. Planning outreach programmes to reach the most vulnerable groups in society.
4. Providing support, spiritual counseling and care for People Living with HIV and their families.
5. Increasing awareness of the links between HIV/AIDS and development, governance, gender and human rights.
6. Promote policies addressing the root causes of HIV/AIDS including poverty.
The Arab States region has one of the fastest growing HIV infection rates in the world with heightened risk factors due to conflict, gender disparity and poverty in the region. Every ten minutes someone is infected with HIV in the Arab States and women now make up half of those infected. World Bank projections for infection rates in the region suggest generalized epidemics in Arab countries in the next ten years if the response is not scaled up immediately.
“As a positive person living with HIV at one time I had no way to share my status with my family and closest friends. The Religious support has not only changed my perspective but also that of my community’s. Yet, there is a long way to go in the fight against stigma and discrimination that we face. Now with this network of HIV positive and religious leaders who are my brothers and sisters in God’s love, we will serve as an unstoppable force in the Arab Region. AIDS is a trial from God, not a punishment and we will come out of this trial stronger because we have taken up this challenge by honoring the dignity of the human spirit and being of service to all people.” said Aisha Ibrahim.