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LUSAKA, Zambia, July 12, 2002 — Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, the first president of Zambia, urged church leaders in his country to fight more vigorously against HIV/AIDS and to consider the role that condoms can play in that fight in a church leaders' conference organized by the Society for Family Health, PSI's affiliate, in partnership with the Turning Point Media Ministries. "If we do not fight we are destined for extinction," Kaunda said. "My dear leaders of the church, this new approach to fight HIV/AIDS further gives me more strength and encouragement in my resolve to fight AIDS with all whatever is remaining of my God-given energy." In the past, the church in Zambia has openly opposed condom promotion in the fight against HIV/AID. Former President Frederick Chiluba, a born-again Christian who ruled from 1992 to 2002, declared Zambia a "Christian nation" and opposed condoms, saying they only promoted promiscuity. In his speech, Dr. Kaunda emphasized that it is necessary to form a united front across denominations in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He encouraged churches to become more active and to form strong alliances in HIV/AIDS prevention activities as well as promote more open discussion about the disease. He also mentioned that it was important to tackle this war from many angles. "You are tackling the medical side, you are addressing the stigma aspect, you are confronting breaking the wall of silence and indeed you are pushing for preventive measures against infections," he said. Dr. Kaunda has openly advocated for condom use as a way of protection against HIV/AIDS. The church finds the HIV/AIDS subject quite difficult because of the church's promotion of moral uprightness and integrity, according to Bishop Harrison Sakala. "So the church is faced with a challenge to look beyond the walls and discuss issues of sexuality openly and perhaps to say something about the prevention of the spread of the scourge," he said. "This is not to negate the mission of the church, which is to preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." On the issue of condoms, Bishop Sakala advised the church not to "just say no to condoms" but to brainstorm and think whether a condom has a place in sexual contact such as marriage settings where one partner is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative. At the related Christian Church Leaders Conference in Kitwe in Copperbelt Province, participants agreed to develop an HIV/AIDS policy for the church. Through a combination of several denominations including the Catholic Church, the conference agreed to push ahead with the campaign against HIV/AIDS, reasoning that information on HIV/AIDS must be shared and that people should be able to hear the message of HIV/AIDS from the pulpit. The Christian Council of Zambia submitted that churches must be open to discussion of sex at different levels to help destigmatize HIV/AIDS and sex. The Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia said condom use should be restricted to married couples to discourage sexual relations before marriage. The Zambia Episcopal Conference supported this position saying condoms had a place in marriage despite the Catholic position, which condemns widespread use of condoms. The Episcopal Conference body said condoms had to be considered, especially in view of discordant couples where one is positive and the other negative. The Church Leaders' Conference was a first step forward for all parties concerned and will lead to follow up activities that can help to facilitate future dialogue between non-governmental organizations and the church as they continue together in the fight against HIV/AIDS. — Mpundu Mwanza, Media and Public Affairs Specialist, Society for Family Health
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