Ms. Elijah Fung, manager of the HIV Education Centre at Hong Kong's St. John's Cathedral gave a briefing to staff at the Canadian Church House about their work.
"`Our Church Has AIDS: Anglican Church Responds Worldwide' is the title of a video compact disk (VCD) launched at the 15th International AIDS Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand in July 2004. The VCD aims to reflect the response of the Anglican Church in different parts of the globe as the church aims to combat the AIDS pandemic. The VCD was produced by the staff of St. John's Cathedral HIV Education Centre in Hong Kong. The Centre is the only faith-based institution in Hong Kong working in the HIV/AIDS area, and is a leader in this field in Asia. The VCD uses the resources of the Anglican Communion, including those from the Province of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, the Mothers' Union, the Anglican Board of Mission Australia and the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG) London".
"The theme of this year's International AIDS Conference was `Access for All'. Special attention was being given to the role of communities in combating the AIDS epidemic. A significant dimension of community response was found in the work of faith-based organizations and the growing forms of collaboration among them". Prior to the International AIDS Conference, "the Christians, Muslims and Buddhists organized separate pre-Conference meetings for their own communities. The Pre-Conference meetings focused on workshops, sharing and discussions in the light of their particular religious teachings, principles and experiences." "The presence and involvement of faith-based actors at this particular Conference was the largest and most active to date."
Author is Manager of St. John's Cathedral HIV Education Centre in Hong Kong.