Breaking News

ARUA’S FAVOUR PRAYER CENTER BEGINS HIV/AIDS SUPPORT PROGRAM

BY RICHARD DRASIMAKU

ARUA: MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2024

FAVOUR prayer Center, an evangelical Christian revival church at Odia in Arua district has begun a HIV/AIDS support program anchored on counseling and prayers to facilitate positive living.

About 30 people participated in the first event that lasted for one week, ending on January 28, 2013.

Pastor James Obetia, the Director of the four-year-old church said the program was based on spiritual direction to provide adequate pastoral counselling to augment the counselling done by the medical workers in order to achieve restoration of hope.

The key messages were encouragement to do routine check-ups to monitor their viral load in order to reduce the chances of passing the virus to other people.

“We told them to eat well and take medicines timely. Participants were told that God has the power to heal them but this is a process involving many people and issues.”

“The government has to do its part through the medical staff, spiritual leaders have to do their part and above all they have to cooperate and do by action in order to achieve a difference,” he said in an interview.

Obetia added that FAVOUR, a shorthand for faithful actions-values of universal righteousness, stands for faith-based interventions.

Christians during prayers at Favour prayer center

This, he explained, means that to bring about a difference, measures taken to help the people living with HIV/AIDS, both medical and spiritual with support from the government should be backed by faith.

Arua district has HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 2.8%, meaning that about three out of 100 people in the district are HIV positive but many do not know their status.

There are estimated 4,604 people living with HIV/AIDS but only about 2,000 are on antiretroviral treatment.

Many of the participants commuted from home, but those from far off areas had to be accommodated at the church premises.

The pastor said there is plan to provide a bigger support such as provision of rice, posho and sugar to these vulnerable people during subsequent programs possibly starting from July, 2024.

A participant from Arivu sub-county (names withheld) who has lived with HIV for ten years said it was the first time that he had received teaching on holistic behavioural change for people in positive living.

“At the health center, they counseled us about depression, stigma, adherence to treatment and being faithful to your partner. Here the church teachers added forgiveness, repentance and spiritual growth,” he said.

Michael Ejidra, the outgoing Acting HIV/AIDS focal point person for Arua district, commended the church for the intervention, saying that however small their support is, when put in the right way, it can help in HIV prevention, care and management.

He urged the pastoral leadership to work with the district coordination team to achieve inter-sectorial collaboration.

“We normally bring religious institutions in coordination meetings to help them get a better view of the gaps. We encourage working together because not one person can do everything,” said Ejidra.

“We bring on board cultural and religious leaders because HIV/AIDS is a public health issue. We ask these leaders to include HIV messages in their deliberations and summons,” Ejidra appealed.

He emphasized that their approach is now geared towards targeted counseling and testing with that aim of eliminating HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

About West Nile

Check Also

WHY INPUTS AND MARKET DISCOUNT MODELS COULD SPUR UPTAKE OF SOIL TESTING SERVICES BY SMALL-HOLDER FARMERS IN NORTHERN UGANDA

BY RICHARD DRASIMAKU Saturday, January 18, 2025 Despite the growing importance of soil testing to …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *