Church leaders on AIDS awareness road trip

ETHIOPIA: Church leaders on AIDS awareness road trip

JOHANNESBURG, 2 Nov 2004 (PLUSNEWS) - Leaders of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church have embarked on a two-week tour of the country's southern provinces to raise awareness about the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The campaign is part of an inter-denominational initiative involving Protestant and Islamic religious leaders, launched earlier this year by the National Anti-AIDS Secretariat.

According to the South African Press Association (SAPA), the church leaders will be preaching fidelity, speaking out against stigma and discrimination, and encouraging people to care for and support HIV-positive people.

The latest government figures estimate that 2.6 million people in Ethiopia are living with the virus and nearly 1.25 million children have lost either one or both of their parents to the disease.

[ENDS]


[Back] [Home Page]

Click here to send any feedback, comments or questions you have about PlusNews Website or if you prefer you can send an Email to Webmaster

Copyright © IRIN 2006
The material contained on www.PlusNews.org comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.
All PlusNews material may be reposted or reprinted free-of-charge; refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use. IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.