Bahá’í World/Volume 31/Facing the Global HIV-AIDS Epidemic
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Facing the Global —
HIV/AIDS Epidemic A BAHA’I PERSPECTIVE
Dawn K. Smith MD, MS. MPH, examine: afizitb—based approach to tile satin! and public health romequenm‘ 0fHIV/AIDS.
Ithough written decades before the recognition of HIV and AMDS, the words of Shoghi EEendj can aptly be used to de— scribe the effects of this epidemic on the world we live in
at the beginning of the twenty-first century:
A yawning gulfthreatcns to involve in one common disaster both the satisfied and dissatisfied nations, democracies and dictator- ships, capitalists and wage-earners, Europeans and Asiatics, jew and Gentile. white and colored. .. Sore—tried and disillusioned, humanity has no doubt lost its orientation and would seem to have lost as well its Faith and hope. It is hovering, unshepherded and visionless. on the brink of disaster.‘
It is unusual to discuss what perspective religion has on a specific disease. We do not ask for the Buddhist perspective on measles, the Catholic view on malaria, or the Islamic view on tuberculosis. All of these are major causes of illness and premature death in the world. The still—cxpanding HIV/AIDS epidemic is different From these other infectious diseases in that it is driven by, and magnifies the negative
' Shoghi Effendi. Tl): Warld Order qua/Jd’u’lldh: Salami me, 1nd rev. ed. (Wilmette, IL: Bahé'l Publishing Trust. 1993), p. 190.
179
180 THE BAHA’I’ WORLD 2002—2003
Global HIV Prevalence
- 15.0% —— 39.0% - 5.0% — l5.“ - L096 — 5‘02“: - 05% — L099 H (MW — 0.5% D 0.0% — OJ“: 1: no: uvuilnble
effects of, the social and institutional problems of civilization to an extent never before seen. It is this catalytic nature that gives impetus to the frequent call for the world’s religions to define their “position" on HIV/AIDS.
The Global HIV Epidemic
Religion has always been concerned with humanitarian support for the ill, and the intensity of this global pandemic demands an unprec— edented level ofaction in response to this traditional concern. In the 22 years since the first reports were published about a new and fatal illness named acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), then with cause unknown, and the 7.0 years since its cause—the human immunodeficiency virus (Hrv)—was discovered. this epidemic has spread steadily and tragically throughout the world.2 At the end of 2002, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
3 For more information about the initial discovery ofAIDs, see Centers for Disease Control, “Pneumocystis pneumonia—Los Angeles," Morbidity and Mortality V/Er/eé/ Report: 30 ([981): 250—52. For more on the initial reports of HIV, see F. BmmSinoussi. J.C. Chermann, F. Rey et 3.1., “Isolation (cont'd)
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GLOBAL HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC I81
Lifetime risk ofAlDS death for 15-yar-old boys, assuming unchanged or halved risk of becoming infected with HIV in selected countries
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and the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 42 million people were living with HIV infection, 5 million having been newly infected; 3.1 million died in 2002 alone.3
Sub-Saharan Africa—{specially southern Africa—has suffered the heaviest impact of any region of the world, accounting for 70 percent of all new infections and 77 percent of deaths worldwide. But rapid growth of the epidemic is now also occurring in the two most populous countries of the world. In India there were estimated to be 4 million people infected at the end of 2002, more than in any other country besides South Africa. In China, home to onc—fifih of the world’s people, at least one million are living with HIV infection. and the number of infections is increasing 30 percent per ycax.
of a T—Iymphotropic retrovirus From a patient at risk for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)." Science 210, no. 4599 (1983): 868—71.
’ UNMDS. \mm. AIDS Epidnm'c Update: Dcremlm 2002. available at http:// www.unaids.org/hrml/pub/publicarionslirc-pubOG/epi03_00_cn_h(mthm.
182 THE BAHA‘f WORLD 2002—2003
Estimated HIV infected adults by age group,
Botswana 2002 so
I Males
I Females
HIV Prevalence (%) N \n .
15-19 20424 2429 50-34 35-39 404‘) All .1ng
Botswana is the most heavily infected population in the worid and exemplifies the human devastation that this epidemic is capab|e ofcausing. In 2002, more than one—third (35.4 percent) ofthc popu— lation 15—49 years of age was already infected with HIV, with the highest prevalence among older adolescents and young adults.‘
This high rate of infection in its young population and the result- ing premature deaths have resulted in negative papulation growth (i.e.. more deaths than births) in a country with more than 40 years of uninterrupted peace and a stable. representative government that has used the nation’s mineral and agricultural resources to achieve exemplary gains in social and economic development for its people. Life expectancy at birth (the age to which an average person born in a year could expect to survive). which had risen steadily over the last so years and would have been 70 without the HIV epidemic, has now fallen to 39 and is expected to reach 27 by the end of this decade.‘3
“ Botswana National AIDS Coordinating Agency, “H/mwamz 2002: Smmzl Generation HIW/lIDS Surveillance: A Yir/miml Report." November 2002.
S usury. “Life Expectancy Will Drop Worldwide Due [0 AIDS.“ July 1002. available at http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/ZOOZ/pr020708.html.
GLOBAL HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC 183
Although the burden of illness and death being mused by this epidemic is deeply disturbing, its consequences are not limited to these health outcomes. Economic productivity declines as the impact on human resources increases. For example, fewer school teachers, nurses, and administrators are available to provide public services; social infrastructure is both increasingly strained and shrinking; pov- crty incmses; food generation decreases; and families are disrupted as young adults sicken and die, leaving behind dependent children and elders. We are truly hovering on the brink ofan unprecedented disaster.
Components of a Response by Bahé’fs
Bahé’fs are instructed not to live in monastic isolation from the rest of the world and its problems.6 The Bahé’i community has been swept into this global problem and, like the rest of the world, is searching to find ways to contribute more aggressively and effectively to the struggle against this evolving holomust. As a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Efl‘endi in 1932 expressed it, “When such a crisis sweeps over the world no person should hope to remain intact. We belong to an organic unit and when one part of the organism suffers all the rest of the body will feel its consequence.”
ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE
The ability to “know” is one of the most important blessings given to mankind. Ignorance is one of the key elements fueling the HIV epidemic and the too-often cruel or inappropriate responses to it The Bahé l writings state,
God has conferred upon and added to man a distinctive pow— er—the faculty of intellectual investigation into the secrets of cmdon. the acquisition of higher knowledge—the greatest virtue
° Shoghi Efi‘endi, Gad Passe: By (Wlmene, IL: Bah“ Publishing Tmst, 1995), p. 2.14.
7 From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a Baha‘i Family. 14 April 1931. in Light: oquMance.-A Babd 't'Rtfi'rmrr File, compiled by Helen Hornby. 3rd rev. ed. (New Delhi: Bahd'l Publishing Trust. 1994), no. 446. p. 133.
184 THE BAH.“ WORLD 2002—2003
of which is scientific enlightenment. This endowment is the most praiseworthy power of man, for through its employment and exercise, the betterment of the human race is accomplished.“
Scientific investigation has been at the core of the global response to the HIV epidemic since its recognition. Medical epidemiology was used to define AIDS; social sciences to elucidate the social networks in which the condition occurred and the pathways by which it spread initially in the United States; and laboratory sciences to isolate its cause and develop treatments. However, the fear and stigma that accompanied the first reports of a new, infectious, fatal illness have persisted in many quarters despite all we have learned. Misinfor— mation and ignorance of the facts underlie many of the negative attitudes and behaviors that are contributing to an inadequate re— sponse to the epidemic.
For example, fear of casual contagion causes people in many settings to discriminate against those with HIV infection, denying them access to schooling. jobs, housing, or the cue and support of family and former friends. But science has demonstrated clearly that HIV is not casually transmitted.
The virus is very fragile and requires very specific conditions to be able to pass from one person to another.
Direct blood—to-blood transfer is highly efficient and resulted in many early infections among hemophiliacs and transfusion recipi— ents who received direct injection of blood products from infected persons. Now that we have good ways to test donated blood for infectious diseases, this form ofspreading HIV is increasingly uncom- mon. However, direct blood transfer still results in infections among injection—drug users and in situations where a shortage of supplies or poor training leads to reuse of medical injection equipment (e.g., needles) for several patients.
Blood exposure is also the cause of HIV transmission From an infected mother to her child during pregnancy and/or birth. We can now also reduce the frequency of this by treating pregnant
” ‘Abdu’l-Bahé. Tl): Pramulgatian of Universal l’mre: 7211A: Delivered by Zbdu'fiBu/Jd during Hi: Visit to Ill! United State: and Canada in 1912, rev. ed. (Wilmette. IL: Bahé'l Publishing Trust, 1995). p. 31.
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women and infants over a few months with anti—Htv (antiretrovi- ral) medications.
Genital tract secretions and breast milk can also contain relatively high levels of HIV and lead to sexual transmission of HIV and infec— tion of infants through breastfkeding.
However. teats, sweat. saliva, and other body fluids to which we may be exposed casually (by touch, coughing, or sneezing,'for example) do not carry HIV. Hiv cannot penetrate intact skin. So there is no justification for the physical and social isolation of people with HIV infection. Simply learning how HIV is transmitted (passed between people), and how it is not, frees us to assist people who are infected with HIV and those close to them without fears for our own health.
In one community in the US. a believer went to his religious leaders to tell them about his HIV infection and get their advice about how to tell the others in his community. It was decided that a community meeting would be held at a member’s home. When people arrived, they found that the hostess, an elderly woman. had placed chairs outside in the driveway so that the HIv—positive per- son wouldn't have to come into her home. On the one hand. this demonstrated her unrealist feat of HIV and set a poor tone for the meeting. On the other hand. despite her fear, she was the one will- ing to host the meeting.
Exercise of our ability to “know" should not be limited, how- ever. to knowledge about transmission. Baha’is have an obligation to learn about the broader issues surrounding the HIV epidemic. its causes, its effects, and actions that can retard its spread and mitigate its effects:
The present condition of the world—its economic instability, social dissensions, political dissatisfaction, and international dis— trust—should awaken the youth from their slumber and make them enquire what the future is going to bring. It is surely they who will suffer most if some calamity sweep over the world. They should therefore open their eyes to the existing conditions. study the evil forces that are at play, and then with a concerted effort arise and bring about the necessary reforms—reforms that
186 THE BAHA’f WORLD 2002—2003
shall contain within their scope the spiritual as well as social and political phases of human life.”
If the Bahé’i’s want to be really effective in teaching the Cause they need to be much better informed and able to discuss intel- ligently, intellectually, the present condition of the world and its problems. '0
Too often members and representatives of the world’s religions have used the HIV/AIDS epidemic to promote discord, insisting that it is solely a problem of the irreligious or that this illness is a pun— ishment from God, meted out to “sinners” or the “unfaithfiil.” This attitude has been used either to ignore the presence ofHIv infection in religious communities or to isolate and accuse members who are infected. Along with the fear of casual infection, this abuse of reli- gion leads to stigma and discrimination. In contrast to this negative stance, ‘Abdu’l—Bahé emphasized the role of religion in promoting unity and in working in harmony with science. He said,
[R]eiigion must be the cause of unity, harmony, and agreement among mankind. If it is the cause of discord and hostility, if it leads to separation and creates conflict, the absence of religion would be preferable in the world.
Furthermore, He [Bahzi’u’lléh] proclaims that religion must be in harmony with science and reason. If it does not conform to science and reconcile with reason, it is superstition.ll
HIv-related stigma and discrimination are not only unjust and unkind at the individual level, but they are themselves a contributor to new infections. They deter people from seeking or using a variety of services that can reduce the risk of further HIV transmission. For example, particularly in the developing world, many women are
9 From a letter written on behalfofShoghi Effendi to an individual believer, 13 March 1932, in Light: of Guidance, no. 2125, p. 628.
1° From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, 5 July 1949, in “Guidelines for Teaching,” in Campilatinn 0f Campihuiam, voL 2 (Ingleside, NSW: Bahé‘f Publications Australia, 1991), p. 314.
” ‘Abdu’l-Bahé, Promulgation ofUm'vmal Pram pp. 454—”.
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infected through the risk behaviors of their husbands. But because they fear the reaction of their husbands and families even to being tested for HIV, many refuse testing during pregnancy or. iftested and found positive, refuse antiretrovira] medicines that would protect their infants from getting infected and would prolong their own lives.
DEALING WITH BEHAVIORS
THAT RISK HIV INFECTION
The HIV epidemic presents a special challenge to the Baha’i Faith and other major religions because it is most often spread by sexual behaviors proscribed in sacred texts.” Baha’u’llah counseled His fol— lowers: “Ye are forbidden to commit adultery, sodomy, and lechery. Avoid them, 0 concourse of the Faithful.”‘3
Worldwide, approximately 75 percent of HIV infections are sexually acquired, another [0 percent by injection—drug use, and 10 percent ftom infected mothers to their children during pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding. The remaining 5 percent occur through transfusion or contaminated medical injections.
While a large majority of HIV is transmitted by heterosexual sex, because AIDS was first recognized among homosexual men in the us and Europe. it is still widely perceived as a “gay plague.” And because the teachings of many religions about homosexual behavior are controversial, particularly in the HIV/AIDS community. it is worth spending a moment to discuss this aspect of the Baha’i teachings.
Sex in the Faith is not a sin—Iaden concept. We are told that sexual feelings are a divine gift that provides a forceful means to deepen and express love, but only when acted on in a proper context. Sexual intercourse is only permitted between a man and woman who are married to each other. Individual believers are responsible for control- ling their sexual desires whenever they occur outside of that context. A variety of behaviors is recognized to occur in human societies but is to be resisted and controlled as part of an individual’s spiritual.
'1 See Geoffrey Parrinder, Sexual Morality in the World} Rtlr'giam (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 1980).
“ Bahi'u'llfih. in "A Chasre and Holy Life.” in Campilnn'an nfCampilatiam. vol. 1. p. 57.
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moral, and social responsibilities. These include premarital sex, h0— mosexual sex. adultery, and sex with children‘ In the same way that the Bible commands that a man should not “covet” mother's wife, the Bahé’l tmchings urge mastery not only of behaviors, but also of inappropriate impulses and desires that precede them. As stated in
a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi,
The world today is submerged, amongst other things, in an over— exaggeration of the importance of physical love, and a dearth of spiritual values. In as far as possible the believers should try to realize this.. . . [T]hey should seek to establish bonds ofcomrade— ship and love which are eternal and founded on the spiritual life of man, not on his physical life. This is one of the many fields in which it is incumbent on the Bahé'fs to set the example and lead the way to a true human standard of life, when the soul of man is exalted and his body but the tool for his enlightened spirit.”
On the other hand, we are enjoined from asceticism or a "bigoted Puritanism.”ls In this sense, the Bethe“ teachings strike a difficult balance between recognizing that both positive and negative sexual impulses exist, setting clear boundaries for the healthy enjoyment of sex, and reminding us that sexuality is only one ofseveral impor- tant opportunities during our lifetime for self-mastery and spiritual development.
Within this framework of understanding sexuality in general, the teachings prohibiting homosexual behaviors both recognize that there may be medical or inborn factors leading to homosexual desire and emphasize the need to struggle against unhealthy desires and resist engaging in prohibited behavior:
Man’s physical existence on this earth is a period during which the moral exercise of his free will is tried and tested in order to pnepare his soul for the other worlds ofGod. and we must welcome affliction and tribulations as opportunities for improvement in our
” From a letter written on behalfofShoghi Effcndi to an individual believer. 28 September 1941. in Mmagesfmm 1/7: Universal Haw: of justice. 1963—1986 (Wilmette, IL: Bahé’f Publishing Trust, 1996), p. 133-34.
” Shoghi Efl’endi. The Advent of Divine justice (Wilmette, IL: Bahé'i Publish— ing Tntst, [990), p. 33.
GLOBAL HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC 189
eternal selves. The House ofjustice points out that homosexuals are not the only segment of human society laboring at this daily task—every human being is beset by such inner promptings as pride, greed, selfishness, lustful heterosexual or homosexual desires, to name a few which must be overcome, and overcome them we must if we are to fulfill the purpose of our human existence.‘6
This approach is extremely helpful in considering the full range ofsexual behaviors that are resulting in widespread HIV transmission. If sex occurred only between married partners, there would be no epidemic. And to the extent that religion or other factors help people to move towards that goal. the epidemic will slow. Unfortunately, the prevailing thought is that sexual fidelity and exclusivity, even if desirable, is not attainable. Therefore, people argue, we have to rely on condoms and a future vaccine to control the epidemic and not waste time on, for example, abstinence education. Despite 20 years of aggressive condom promotion, we still have a rapidly growing epidemic. And in the several countries where HIV prevalence has gone down (e.g., Uganda) or remained low (e.g., Senegal), rates of premarital sex and the number of sexual partnerships reported by individuals are decreasing or low. Many of the same people now argue that we have to address gender inequity and poverty to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic—problems that are older, more generalized, and more entrenched than those brought by the “sexual liberation” of the past loo years.
This resistance to believing that people can, with help. meet a high standard of behavior. particularly one that is in their own best interest, is pervasive and extends also to the question of substance abuse and its role in HIV transmission. Rather than push for the provision of treatment on demand for all those addicted to injected drugs or disinhibiting drugs like cocaine and alcohol, the HIV/AIDS prevention field is spending most of its valuable social capital on “safer injection” programs like needle exchange and medically supervised injection programs. While these may reduce the risk of transmitting HIV and hepatitis, they do not address the primary
“‘ From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, 16 July 1980, in Light: of Guia’ante, no. 122.8, p. 367.
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social, emotional, and economic costs of the addictions, either to individuals or the community. Drug use and drinking alcoholic beverages are prohibited in the Bahé’l Faith, but we are also required to support community members struggling with these problems. The Bahi'f writings state,
It is the nature of man to find enjoyment in that which is gratifying to his senses; if he pursue this path he subverts his individuality to such a degree that the poison of darkness which was the means of death becomes the means of his existence and his nature becomes so degraded and his individuality so deflected that his one purpose in life will be to obtain the death-dealing drug.”
One long—term, preventative approach—based on a belief that people can live up to these personal behavior challenges—is being tried by several Bahé’f nongovernmental organizations. The Varqa Foundation, in collaboration with Health For Humanity,[8 has implemented a values—based youth education program in Guyana, “Youth Can Move the World,"“’ which trains youth facilitators for a national program to address sexuality, Hrv/AIDS, and other issues within a holistic, values—based curriculum. Similarly, Bahé’is in Buryatia, in the Russian Federation, have created a “Youth Center for Social Initiatives” to provide HIV/AIDS prevention education, training in moral leadership, and alcohol/drug—free social activities to teens. In addition, they are working with the Ministry ofEducac tion to develop a prevention curriculum for the schools, targeting n.- to 15-year-olds.
CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER
While the Bahé’i standard for personal behavior that might risk HIV transmission is very high, so also is the standard for personal behavior towards one another. We are instructed to call ourselves to
'7 ‘Abdu'l—Bahé. ‘Aba'u’l—Ba/m’ on Divine Philomp/Jy (Boston: The Tudor Press, 1913). p. 133.
‘" httpzl/www.healthforhumanitynrgfl
'9 http:l/www.sdnp.org.gy/ycmw/YCMTVV/index.html.
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account each day but admonished. as individuals, not to judge the behavior of each other:
Each of us is responsible for one life only, and that is our own. Each of us is immeasurably far from being "perfect as our heav- enly Father is perfect” and the task of perfecting our own life and character is one that requires all our attention, our will pov_ver and energy. If we allow our attention and energy to be taken up in efforts to keep others right and remedy their faults, we are wasting precious time.”
We ate emphatically and repeatedly admonished against faultfinding or backbiting about others.“ And we are specifically instructed that "to regard homosexuals with prejudice or disdain would be entirely against the spirit of the Babe“ teaehings."22 We are encouraged to be patient with “our own poor selves” and urged to “persevere and add up [our] accomplishments, rather than to dwell on the dark side of thinng'23 And if we are the object of negative attitudes or behaviors, we are to respond as we would have wished
to be treated:
In every instance let the friends be considerate and infinitely kind. Let them never be defeated by the malice of the people, by their aggression and their hate, no matter how intense. Ifothers hurl their darts against you, offer them milk and honey in return; if they poison your lives, sweeten their souls; if they injure you, teach them how to be comforted; if they inflict a wound upon you, be a balm to their sores; if they sting you, hold to their lips a refreshing cup.“
1" From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer 12 May 1925. in Light: aquidame, no. 318, p. 92.
1‘ [bid.
23 From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House ofjustice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States. 11 September 1995.
‘3 Shoghi Efiendi. Unfizlding Destiny: 77): Message: fiam ll): Guardian qfthe Bahd’l’ Faith m the Build '1' Cammuniq of ti): Brink}; Isle: (London: Bahé'l' Publishing Trust, [981). p. 456.
2" ‘Aba'u'l-Balad. Selenium fiam 2/): Writing: of Zbdu'l—Balyd (Wilmette. IL: Bahé’f Publishing Trust, 1997), p. 7.4.
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Together these teachings reinforce the principle that each mem- ber of the global family has an important role to play in helping us to grow and develop, being supportive and nonjudgmental ofothers, and being forgiving of the errors and occasional harshness ofothers. These attitudes and actions underlie a compassionate response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic as well as to other difficult situations encountered in our lives.
One story about ‘Abdu’l-Bahé, who nearly died of tuberculosis (consumption) as a youth, is exemplary of how such teachings can be applied in our everyday lives:
In the very early days of the knowledge of the Cause of Bahé’u’lléh in America, Mrs. [Lua] Getsinger was in ‘Akké, having made the pilgrimage to the prison city to see the Master. She was with Him one day when He said to her that He was too busy today to call upon a friend of His who was very ill and poor and He wished her to go in His place. “Take him food and care for him as I have been doing,” He concluded. He told her where this man was to be found and she went gladly, proud that ‘Abdu'I—Bahé should trust her with this mission.
She returned quickly. “Master.” she exclaimed, “surely you cannot realize to what a terrible place you sent me. I almost tainted from the awful stench, the filthy rooms, the degrading condition of that man and his house. I fled, lest I contract some horrible disease!”
Sadly and stetnly ‘Abdu’I-Bahé regarded her. “Dost thou desire to serve God," He said, “serve thy fellow man. for in him dost thou see the image and likeness of God.” He told her to go back to this man’s house. If it is filthy she should clean it; if this brother of yours is dirty, bathe him; if he is hungry, feed him. Do not return until this is done. Many times had He done this En him and cannot she serve him once.”5
The teachings at the heart of the Bahé’i Faith are not just abstract principles. Each provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate by our actions the firmness of our belieF—and our commitment
3" H.M. Balyuzi, ?lba'u’l—Ba/Jd: The Cmtrt 0ft/M Covenant (Oxford: George Ronald, [987), p. [96.
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to develop the knowledge, skill. and fortitude to live Our lives accordingly.
Since its establishment in 1992, the Bahi‘l Institute on AIDS, Sexuality, and Addictions (lASA)——which in 1997 became the Bahfi’i’ Network on AIDS, Sexuality, Addictions, and Abuse (BNASAA)—has been working to assist individuals and institutions within the Bahzi’l Faith in North America to deal with these issues. Through regional and national workshops, a periodic newsletter, and consultation with the administrative bodies of the Faith, BNASAA stimulates reflection and the exchange of information. It provides a confidential, safe environment where people struggling with these issues, together with their Families and friends, can receive love and support.
The Bahé'l Health Agency of South Africa, which has recently been recognized as a nongovernmental AIDS organimtion, focuses on working within the Baha"! community to provide resources, consultation, and support for local administrative bodies working with Hiv—infected community members. In addition, it advocates abstinence-based prevention activities among youth both within the Bahé'f community and in the general community.
Children on the Brink
If not a single new case of HIV infection occurred from now on, there would still be a devastating impact on the basic structures of civilization because of the amount of illness and death facing us. To carry forward an ever‘advancing civilization, it is necessary that each new generation be able to build on the knowledge, experience, and resources of the previous one. All too often, this will not be the case for children in areas heavily impacted by HlV/AIDS.
In 2001, there were already [3.4 million children who had lost one or both parents to HIV infection, 11 million of them in Sub—Saharan Africa. That is the equivalent of one«third of all the school-aged children in the us?“ By the end of this decade, in 2010, the number will have doubled to 25.3 million worldwide, including 20.1 million
1‘ Based on 2003 information from the US Census Bureau.
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in Sub—Saharan Africa27 Stephen Lewis, the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, has called these numbers “hallucinatory,” but numbers alone do not give the real picture of the lives of these children.
As parents become ill, if they are employed they have to leave work; if they are farmers or otherwise self—employed they do not have die strength to work. Household income falls while costs go up for medicine, for hospital stays, and eventually for funerals. Children are taken out of school, either to care for ill adults and young chil— dren in the household, to work and bring in household income, or because school, book, and uniform fees can no longer be paid. In some cases, schools have closed for lack of teachers because so many of them have died of HIV/AIDS. Girls are taken out of school first, and when things become desperate, they are easy prey for informal sex work. When parents die. children may be taken in by grandpa:— ents or aunts and uncles, but this often overtaxes the economic and emotional resources of their new caretakers. And in places where prevalence is high, it is not uncommon to find elderly grandparents trying to care for the young families ofseveral of their adult children who have died of HIV/AIDS. If children are not taken in, because of the stigma associated with HlV/AIDS, foster homes will usually not be available and they may be left trying to care for each other. This phenomenon ofchild—headed households, in which the eldest child is sometimes only 10 or 12, is unstable—least of all because there are no adults to provide financial support. As a result, many of these children sooner or later end up homeless—street children begging for food or resorting to theft and prostitution to meet their basic survival needs. And of course, these factors leave them at high risk for becoming HIV—infected themselves at a young age.
What will the world be like when 7.0 or 30 percent of a nation’s children have grown up in such dire circumstances? Without the civili‘zing influences of a parent’s love and guidance, without an education? Having many people they love and who loved them die?
2’ usmn. UNICEF, UNAIDS, Children m the Brink 2002: A joint Report an
inlmn Em'mam 4nd1’ragmm Strategies, available at http://www.unice£orgl publications/index_4378.html.
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With a lifetime of lessons leading them to believe that they have to take what they need because no one will provide it for them?
To date, we have not yet brought to bear our creativity, our intellectual, economic, and political resources. our outrage or our determination that this cannot be allowed to happen.
Bahé’ls are told that the question of orphans is of the utmost importance, that the greatest consideration must be shown them ind they must be taught, trained, and educated to become “true servants
of the world of humanity and as bright candles in the assemblage of mankind”:28
[The Local Spiritual Assembly] must promote by every means in their power the material as well as the spiritual enlightenment of youth, the means for the education of children, institute, whenever possible, Baha’i educational institutions, organize and supervise their work and provide the best means for their progress and development.”
Acting on this and other such statements in their scriptures, Baha’i individuals and institutions have established private schools around the world (e.g., in Bolivia, Canada, India, and Swaziland). But while orphanages are a traditional humanitarian activity of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities around the world, to date, there is little experience in Baha’i communities with orphan care. A small orphanage in rural Honduras, the Hagar Tierra Santa Orphanage,30 now houses and educates more than 120 boys and girls with financial support from Bahé’i’ communities in North America and Europe. But the scope of the HIV/AIDS orphan crisis will require a myriad ofapproaches, including orphanages, subsidized foster care and adoption, day care programs, free schooling, counseling and protective services, children’s villages, and others. There can be no issue on which we can more easily establish consensus across per— ceived religious, political, and national boundaries than the urgent need to find a way to help these millions of children.
2“ ‘Abdu’l—Bahé, Selenium, p. 138.
2" From a letter written by Shoghi Effendi to the Bahé’l’s of the West, Japan, and Australasia, 11 March 1923, in Light; 0quidanm no. 4:7, p. 123.
3“ http://www.tierrasantasupport.org/.
196 THE BAHA’f WORLD 2002—2003
A Call to Action
At the turn of the last century, ‘Abdu’l-Bahé admonished members of the Baha’i community,
Be ye loving fathers to the orphan, and a refuge to the helpless, and a treasury for the poor, and a cure for the ailing. Be ye the helpers of every victim of oppression, the patrons of the disad— vantaged. Think ye at all times of rendering some service to every member of the human race. Pay ye no heed to aversion and rejec— tion, to disdain, hostility, injustice: act ye in the opposite way. Be ye sincerely kind, not in appearance only. Let each one of God’s loved ones center his attention on this: to be the Lord’s mercy to man; to be the Lord’s grace. Let him do some good to every persofi whose path he crosseth, and be of some benefit to him.“
In 7.002, Stephen Lewis, the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, addressed an assembly ofAfrican religious leaders with these words:
When AIDS has run its course——if it ever runs its course—it will be seen as an annihilating scourge that dwarfs everything that has gone before.
What it leaves in its wake, in country after country, in ev- ery one of the countries you represent, are thousands or tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands or, eventually, even millions of children whose lives are a torment of loneliness, despair, rage, bewilderment and loss.
[When the history of the AIDS pandemic is written, you want it said that every religious leader stood up to be counted; that when the tide was turned, the religious leaders did the turn- ing; that when the children of Africa were at horrendous risk, the religious leaders led the rescue mission. It’s what all of us beg you to do; I submit to you that it’s what your God, of whatever name, would want you to do.32
3” ‘Abdu’l—Bahé, Selections, p 3‘ “2 Stephen Lewis, address to the African Religious Leaders Assembly on Chil— dren and Hrv/Ams, Nairobi, Kenya, 10 June 2007., available at (cont’d)
[Page 197]
GLOBAL HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC 197
While religious leaders can play a significant role in the fight against AIDS, it is ultimately the responsibility of individual believ— ers and faith communities as a whole. In the Bahzi’f Faith, which has no clergy, each person has a vital role to play. In every home. believers can eradicate stigmatizing misconceptions and attitudes and replace them with knowledge about HIV and behaviors that risk infection. and with compassionate support for people in tl'feir community. Parents and teachers can work together to develop and implement age—appropriate education materials. grounded in the Bahé’l teachings and explicit in their intent to help youth develop positive attitudes towards their developing sexuality and skills neces— sary to manage their natural impulses until they are married. As the epidemic continues to spread globally, an approach limited to “just say no" will leave youth increasingly exposed to risks of acquiring HIV infection themselves. In every city or town, Bahfi'fs can work with existing community-based organizations to support HIV pre- vention and care activities. And those with the skills, interests, and resources can establish new faith-based organizations, whether local or international in scope, to address, in ways that are consistent with the Bahé'l teachings, the needs of people most impacted by this epidemic.
It is not by words but by action that Bahé’is are called to speak to the world: to further the progress of humanity not only through “lip-service" but by “patient lives ofaetive service." If we neglect this work, ‘Abdu’LBahé said, we cannot claim to truly be Bahé’is.”
In the words of the Bahé'l lntemational Community, “Since the body of humankind is one and indivisible, each member of the race is born into the world as a trust of the whole.”-" The magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its devastating impact require us all to rise and fulfill our moral obligations as citizens in this intercon— nected world.
http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.otg/docsl200206lO—Afiican-RIA- Nairobi.html.
-‘-‘ ‘Abdu‘l-Bahi, Punk 7211/5: Addmses given by ‘AMu’l—Babd in Paris in 1911-1912 (London: Bahzi'l Publishing Trust, 199;), p. 80.
“ Bahé'f lntemational Community. Tl): l’rmpzriiy ofHumankind (199s).
