Lay Ministry Schedule
/ Altar Guild /
This
Week At St. Paul's
/ Suggested Readings
Millennium Development Goals
Goal #6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and
other diseases
by Laura Amendola
This summer in Columbus, OH, the General Convention of
the Episcopal Church named the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as the number one mission priority
for the next three years.
To learn more about the MDGs and the Episcopal Church’s commitment, go
to:
www.episcopalchurch.org/ONE
This is the sixth installment in my
eight-part series on the Millennium Development Goals. Goal number six
is to stop HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. In particular, the
target for this goal is to have stopped and begun to reverse the spread
of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases by 2015.
Independently both HIV/AIDS or malaria can ravage whole communities, but
combined they form a potent elixir of death. Both are preventable and
both are treatable even in the poorest communities. Simple interventions
like anti-malarial bed nets can dramatically cut the spread of malaria,
which, even if it doesn’t kill a person, can severely impair their
ability to work for weeks at a time. These two diseases and others like
black fever and tuberculosis significantly contribute to world poverty
by preventing employment and orphaning millions of children.
The Facts:
-
To date 65 million people have been infected by HIV and 25 million have been killed by AIDS since it was first recognized in 1981
-
Of the 38.6 million people living with HIV only a minority are aware they are infected
-
At around 17.3 million, women make up about half of the population living with the virus
-
One in every 100 people in the world are is HIV positive – One third of these people are between the ages 15-24
-
Approximately 40 percent of the world's population, mostly those living in the world's poorest countries, is at risk of contracting malaria.
-
Malaria causes more than 300 million acute illnesses and at least one million deaths annually.
-
An estimated two million deaths resulted from tuberculosis in 2002.
-
Someone in the world is newly infected with tuberculosis bacilli every second
When Jesus sent his followers out to
preach the good news he said, “Whenever you enter a town and its people
welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there,
and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke
10:8-9) Healing and health are central elements of our mission as
Disciples of Christ.
So what can you do?
Give: if everyone gave just 0.7% of their gross income we could achieve
the Millennium Development Goals.… Some suggestions for donations
related to HIV/AIDS and malaria: As always, Episcopal Relief &
Development is a good organization (www.er-d.org). Another option is
Health Unlimited (www.healthunlimited.org).
Learn: There is a lot of information out there about HIV/AIDS. My
friend, the Rev. Philip Shaffer recommends you check out the film “A
Closer Walk” (www.acloserwalk.org)
Volunteer: Locally, you can volunteer with the Minnesota AIDS Project (www.mnaidsproject.org)
Click : www.care.org.
Go to “campaigns” on the left middle section and click on HIV/AIDS to
find advocacy information.
Read about the other goals:
Goal #1: Eradicating Extreme Hunger and Poverty
Goal #2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
Goal #3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower
Women
Goal #4: Reduce Child Mortality
Goal #5: Improve
Maternal Health
Goal #6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
diseases
Goal #7: Ensure
Environmental Sustainability
>Laura Amendola