AIDS has no religion and it was a human challenge that needed to be tackled in a humanitarian way by rooting out stigma attached to the disease and finding means to spread awareness about its prevention, care and treatment, religious leaders of various faith said here today. "Those living and affected by HIV should not be condemned as sinners who are paying for their sins but rather to be talked about it in a non judgemental manner and in a positive way," Art Of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar told reporters after the conclusion of a two-day interfaith summit on HIV organised by the organisation.
The summit was an attempt to bring together religious leaders, who often shied away from the topic, he said. "Religious leaders have a good sway over people and people follow what they say.
If these leaders took up this issue, their followers were bound to get inspired by their talks and treat AIDS/HIV persons with more compassion and sensitivity," he said. As part of the summit, religious leaders including those from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh signed a declaration that chalked out a strategy to combat AIDS, which includes working in close partnership with organisations and networks of people living with HIV. One of the suggestions offered at the summit were faith leaders themselves undergoing an HIV test and communicate the necessity for individuals to go through the test.
General secretary of All India Council of Mosques and Imams Maulan Omar Ahmed Illyasi pledged cooperation in removing the stigma associated with the disease and work in unison for its prevention, care and treatment. Anglican Priest from South Africa, J P Heath, said, "It is not HIV that is a problem, but the stigma attached to it.
Source:PTI
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