aids in a global age

A Pastoral Letter from the Archbishop of Cape Town, His Grace, the Most Reverend Njongonkulu W.H. Ndungane, D.D., F.K.C.

Beloved in Christ: When measured in the cost of lives lost and lives yet to be saved the HIV/AIDS pandemic across sub-Saharan Africa and around the world is calling us into relationships and commitments never before imagined. We are facing global annihilation of some of our most vulnerable people on earth and social chaos unprecedented in human history.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is decimating communities and nations. It is tearing apart families and creating millions of orphaned children. Who will build the future, which is on loan to us from our children? Who will guarantee the hard-won gains of our freedom if no one is educated or able to work and protect the rights of millions who will come after us?

We know that prevention can and does work. We know that anti-retroviral treatments can further prevent the deterioration from disease and subsequent death that tears our families asunder. We know that people of goodwill can band together to form networks of care and support. And we know that there are enough resources in the world to stop this killer in its tracks, if only we have the passion and the will to make it so. Thus we must make ending the AIDS pandemic and ensuring survival for those most at risk a crucial part of national strategies for change and development.

This naturally means addressing the root causes of poverty on a massive scale and forgiving the indebtedness that is strangling our fledgling nations of the global South. By freeing some of these financial burdens, alone, we can do vast amounts of this work ourselves. We must also come together in a new consensus to put an end to the crushing effects of gender inequality. We can change our cultures of enslavement of women and commit ourselves to equal opportunity in order to bring the promised reign of God "on earth as it is in heaven." And then, together, we can usher in a new age of hope for Africa.

In many parts of our continent, the Church is one of the only institutions with both the historic continuity and core of willing and able volunteers to make the changes real, amidst globalization and threat of unending conflict between nations and peoples. In our Church of the Province of Southern Africa, the 2003 HIV/AIDS focus is: "Our Struggle, Our Hope – Working for a Generation without AIDS." I am calling on people of faith everywhere to join us in saving humanity.

The moment is in its fullness. The God of history is beckoning us to enter a larger understanding and enact our basic humanity. Around the world people have rediscovered that we are, indeed, a global community. This is supremely manifested by the global consensus of what each nation should be doing. With the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals, the nations of the world have stated that we have a stake in the well-being of each other. This recalls our Christian roots and the words of St. Paul, "We are members, one of another. When one part of the body suffers, we all suffer."

The response of the faith community is straightforward and simple. It means committing ourselves daily in prayer for saving the world. I invite you to build a tapestry of hope through prayer that will alleviate the suffering of those stultified by the overwhelming tasks which lie ahead.

We know this can work wonders as we can personally give witness to as we peacefully ended our "struggle" against apartheid. We can also prevail upon our governments to give their unconditional support to the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and other government-sponsored relief and development efforts that can and will make a difference in people's lives. We can become vigorous advocates, lobbying our governments for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.

We can extend our reach through our churches by supporting the International Anglican AIDS Fund, administered by the Anglican Communion Office. We can work for justice in our own communities and partner with those living with HIV or AIDS. For we have learned that without a personal relationship to someone living with HIV or AIDS, one can easily become elitist and discriminatory, even with the best intentions to do otherwise.

Finally, we can learn the fine art of companionship. That is, of traveling this difficult highway to hope with one another. We must learn again, too, that we do not travel alone, but the Lord of history, Jesus Christ, travels with us all along the way. He is willing to guide and strengthen us by the power of His life-giving and eternal Spirit. He is able to comfort us in sorrow and loss. And he is willing to dine with us and give us rest when we are hungry and tired. What more do we need?

And so my friends, I invite you into this Partnership for Life with your prayers and your support. Please do not let the birthplace of our humankind become the graveyard of our humanity. Please stand with us and among us as agents of hope and commitment. We must keep our eyes on the prize by working together for a Generation without AIDS.

–Njongonkulu, Cape Town

Njongonkulu W.H. Ndungane is Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the 10-million-member Anglican Church of the Province of Southern Africa (CPSA), comprising the nations of Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mocambique and the islands of St. Helena and Ascension. He is chair of the HIV/AIDS Board of the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA) and holds the HIV/AIDS portfolio for the Primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Well-known across the Communion for his leadership on justice issues, for nearly a decade he has spearheaded efforts on international debt forgiveness, poverty alleviation and gender inequality. Formerly he was Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman in South Africa and Provincial Executive Officer of the CPSA during the tenure of Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu as Archbishop of Cape Town.