Msgr. J.w. Katende
16 December 2007
opinion
On World Aids Day I found myself in the rare company of King Letsie III of Lesotho. This prompted me to seriously ponder the contribution of Africans to the mitigation of HIV/Aids pandemic, more so that the problem is increasingly being more associated with Africa than with any other continent.
I immediately recalled an article "Uganda's invisible cure for HIV/Aids" by Helen Epstein, carried by the New Vision newspaper of August 23, 2007.
Helen was reacting to a research done by Maxime Ankrah, delving in Uganda's amazing record drop in the HIV/ Aids infections between the late 1980s and the early 1990s. Conduct, behaviour change and openness in the face of the pandemic was found to be the major answer; for which President Museveni, has henceforth, been internationally hailed. The author seems to suggest that, had the international community borrowed a leaf form this African approach, the battle against HIV/Aids would by now have become less worrying.
Africans appreciate human sexuality as a sacred gift from God and in the context of marriage and family life. They shun promiscuity. Africans appreciate God's intention for hiding the sexual organs below the belly instead of exposing them on the forehead. Their moral code disallows them to publicly engage in matters pertaining to sex.
Big Brother Africa reality show, indiscriminate sex education (senga), pornography, the condom and the suggestive language that goes with it, commercialisation of sex and prostitution are a real insult to the African mentality and morality. They are only being tolerated now because of the money incentive attached.
The promiscuity that logically follows has only fuelled the already existing pathetic situation, as alarming levels of infections are not only being feared among the youth, but also among the married and even children!
For the Christian, World Aids Day coincides with the season of Advent and Bible Week. Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, intervened in human history to share our joys and sorrows, our hopes and aspirations, so he may, eventually, impart life in its fullness (John 10:10).
Exploitation of human sexuality, so ably represented by the HIV/Aids scourge, happens to be one of the evils, which Jesus addresses. Since the condom is about safe sex and safe sinning, it cannot be his approach. Since the intervention of the condom hinders man and woman, whether married or not, to become one flesh, the sexual act that follows merely implies manipulation of among partners as conduits of sensual pleasure and masturbation. Thus the prevailing mistrust for abstinence and faithfulness among partners seriously betrays African cultural and Christian values in preference for secularism and utilitarianism.
Victory over HIV/Aids will also require a replacement of the condom with the person of Christ, manifesting himself in the living Word of God and Sacraments (Galatians 5:16-26).
The African solidarity with the infected and affected, augmented by the Christian story of the Good Samaritan will bring about the holistic physical and spiritual healing required.
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