Call for Church in Pakistan to help AIDS fight

April 17, 2012: A health expert has appealed to Church leaders to take a leading role in speaking to youths about reproductive health issues in order to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan. Dr Davil Sohail, executive secretary of the Christian Hospital Association of Pakistan, issued the call at the weekend during a health seminar.
The Theological Institute for the Laity and the Presbyterian Church organized the event attended by about 20 representatives from Pakistan’s major denominations. “The Church must not hesitate in discussing sexual issues as this can help combat deadly diseases like hepatitis and AIDS,” said Dr Sohail who is director of the Memorial Christian Hospital in Sialkot where he is leading outreach programs in slums and Punjab villages.
“Trained parish teams can contribute by forming blood donation as well as people empowerment groups.” “Church-run family life commissions also touch upon the issue but we need more focused groups,” he added.
According to a 2010 UN report, the estimated prevalence of HIV amongst the general population is less than 0.1 percent, the majority of them drug addicts and sex workers. Although quite low, the report says a general outbreak is distinctly possible as a result of a growth in the commercial sex industry and a large number of HIV cases among migrant workers returning from the Gulf States. The Lahore-based AIDS Awareness Society, which is training 64 leaders from different religions in AIDS prevention, stressed similar initiatives.
“So far two workshops have been conducted this year. We engaged catechists from two parishes in a previous pastoral health care program,” said Hector Nihal one of its directors.