'The role of religious institutions in combating HIV in the Pacific region has been grossly under-utilised and must be the centrepiece of any effective strategy’


December One: yet another World HIV/AIDS Day—a time to take stock once again. But unfortunately, as far as the Pacific Islands region is concerned, there is little to write home about.

In fact, statistics indicate things have only gotten worse. Estimates say there are over 75,000 people living with the syndrome in the Oceania region. That includes Australia and New Zealand. And the numbers are growing.

Only Tokelau and Niue are yet to report their first case but worryingly, Fiji revealed 19 new cases during the year—notching up the official national total to 219. Kiribati too reported an increase in the number of cases.

Over 90 percent of sufferers in the islands region are from Papua New Guinea, where actual numbers are believed to be far in excess of what is reported. Against government reports of less than 10,000 cases, the World Bank’s estimates are seven times higher at 70,000.

No one can say for certain what the real figures are, thanks to poor research, lack of awareness, religious mores and the fear of social stigma. But everyone agrees that the country—and as a result the entire region—is sitting on a volcano that could very soon explode into an epidemic.

If new infections proceed unchecked at the rate they are growing at present, it is feared PNG’s workforce would be reduced by as much as 37 percent by the year 2020, causing the decline of the nation’s GDP by up to 7.5 percent. Some of its recent positive achievements would be rendered meaningless if this indeed eventuates.

And all indications are that the rate of infection will only grow: HIV is most prevalent in the country’s sexually active and economically productive age group of 15-35. The government has been repeatedly accused of either not deploying funds earmarked for fighting the disease efficiently or not initiating some awareness and control programmes at all.

The government has also been faulted for contributing too little of its own funds to supplement those of international donors. This year, it earmarked just US$ 1.4 million, a mere 0.001 percent of its national budget for the fight against HIV—far too little considering the menacing proportions the disease is threatening to assume, consuming such a large segment of its productive population.

Having said that, surveys did show the awareness of HIV among all segments of the population in the country was higher than ever before—an encouraging sign that the message was getting across. But the country needs to cover much ground in actually putting in place measures to combat its spread.

Countries and territories around PNG are naturally worried infections may spread creating new regional hotspots. The Australian health authorities were recently alerted by community leaders of the Torres Strait Islands who voiced concerns of the distinct possibility of the spread of the disease there because as many as 50,000 PNG citizens visit the islands every year.

This has implications of an eventual spread into Australian shores reversing the gains achieved by AIDS control programmes there. Moves are afoot to screen PNG visitors to the Torres Strait Islands.

Committing ever-increasing funds to fight HIV is not the only solution. Increased global migration, changing sexual mores and permissiveness especially among the young needs concerted efforts and imagination across social sectors.

Religious institutions, opinion leaders, the media, governments, healthcare and education sectors—to name only a few—need to work together with a coherent strategy. Unfortunately so far, there are little signs of that happening and many sectors seem to be working independently rather than in a coordinated fashion that could be far more effective.

Religion forms an important part in the lives of Pacific islanders and this sector more than any other must take the leadership role in spreading awareness of the disease.

This, more than anything else, will encourage affected people to come forth, seek advise and treatment rather than suffer in silence fearing stigma and the risk of spreading the infection in the community. The role of religious institutions in combating HIV in the Pacific region has been grossly under-utilised and must be the centrepiece of any effective strategy.

Across the world, discrimination against HIV positive people is growing, according to human rights organisations. Governments are being accused of not adequately addressing the issue of social stigma—the biggest factor in the way of HIV positive people trying to lead normal lives while combating their condition.

A strategy centered on education and communication engendering greater awareness, coupled with a touch of compassion that can come so convincingly from religious institutions, is clearly the way forward in striking at the stigma.

Encouragingly, earlier this year, a young woman in Kiribati went public about her HIV positive status closely on the heels of a male who was the first to do so in that island country a few months before.

Events such as these go a long way in removing the social stigma attached to the syndrome. Stories of these men and women need to be relayed across the region for these are the most convincing ambassadors for helping raise awareness among the public and a greater sense of self worth among those infected.Sadly, they fail to get the attention they deserve not the least because websites funded to do exactly that languish un-updated for months on end—the Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation website being a case in point.