A View from Outside

by Karin L. Klingman, an infectious diseases physician, member of Lutheran GrACE, and Christ Lutheran Church, in Washington, DC.

I had the opportunity to spend some time with the ELCA Youth Delegation while I was attending AIDS 2014 in Melbourne for work. I was also involved with fund-raising and organizing the travel of 2 of the youths who were sent from the Metro DC synod—one was sponsored by the ELCA and one by donations from the DC area churches raised by Lutheran GrACE (a group of DC area church members who are working to end HIV stigma, and to make churches a more welcoming for HIV positive and HIV at-risk people). Both young men were great additions to the delegation. They are both volunteers at Youth Haven, a camp for HIV affected and infected children and families sponsored and run by Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area. 

The ELCA Youth Delegation was a thoughtful and eager group who wanted to learn and interact with almost everything that AIDS 2014 had to offer—the researchers, the policy makers, the drug company representatives, the community activists, and the NGO workers. The conference challenged all of us to rethink our priorities and our prejudices. It was a call to action. The conference theme was “Stepping up the Pace,” a call to redouble our efforts to end the AIDS pandemic. This is within our grasp—most experts agree with this assessment. Only it will, like solving all problems, take commitment. And the HIV community, from researchers to activists, to people living with the disease, see the wills of our governments and our communities, especially as reflected in funding support, flagging. As a researcher said at one meeting I attended, our leaders and societies “have moved on.” The window for solving HIV is narrow. Now is truly a “tipping point.” If we “bend the curve” now, we can end this sooner, rather than later—within a generation. If we wait, if we prevaricate, even 5 years, the disease will have spread too far to be easily bendable, curve-wise. 

The other “tag-line” at the conference was “No one left behind.” This concept recognizes that HIV incidence and prevalence are highest in marginalized populations in whatever society or country you are talking about. Only by addressing the epidemic in these populations will we succeed in ending this disease. The marginalized are stigmatized and vulnerable, and include drug users, sex workers, LGBT people, the poor, and minority groups, including indigenous populations and prisoners. HIV concentrates in these most vulnerable populations and people. Marginalization and stigmatization impedes access to diagnosis, treatment, and other resources making it hard to have an impact on the HIV epidemic in these populations. More than biomedical interventions need to be deployed in order to solve the HIV epidemic; we need to end discrimination, create opportunities for women, girls and others, and provide more primary and secondary education. The conference presenters in various sessions called us to become more inclusive of these ignored people. When I hear calm and rational biomedical scientists utter words and concepts like this, I marvel. 

Then I wonder, where is the church in this? Isn’t this the church’s mission, to bring everyone home to God, into experiencing a community of caring and love? Where are our hands in this part of God’s work and fulfilling his Word? With the church, HIV can be ended faster, and it could happen with more healing to individuals and societies. Without the church, the problem of HIV will still get solved, but it will take longer, require more resources, and more suffering will happen until we eventually get there. If the church wants to be relevant, we should heed this call to this mission. I think the youth delegates heard this call. I think they understand the urgency of this call. I think ending the HIV pandemic is a call they think the church should answer.