Originally published in German as: AIDS : Eine Krankheit verander die Welt : Daten, Fakten, Hintergrunde. Frankfurt: Verlag Otto Lembeck, 2003.
Includes bibliography: p. 110-118.
This book "is an offering to churches and the world -- a significant and vital addition to the continuum of knowledge -- that will greatly assist churches to be effective and efficient in the struggle to overcome HIV/AIDS. It is a compilation of historical, scientific and statistical material aimed at providing churches and their partners with a better understanding of the dynamics of HIV/AIDS as well as current information to aid in collaborative efforts at answering the challenge of the disease. .... On a practical level this response is deliberately multi-faceted and interactive, encouraging churches and Christian service organizations to build and support coalitions dedicated to overcoming this epidemic". -- Preface.
Contents: Preface / Samuel Kobia, General Secretary, World Council of Churches -- Introduction / Sonja Weinreich and Christoph Benn --.Natural history and HIV transmission -- Global, regional and country-specific spread of HIV/AIDS -- Vulnerable population groups -- Gender equity -- Children -- Young people -- Socio-economic context -- Stigma and discrimination --Human rights -- People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) -- Prevention -- Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) -- Care -- Antiretroviral therapy -- HIV/AIDS on the international agenda -- Advocacy and lobbying -- Culture and tradition -- Churches, theology and HIV/AIDS -- Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS -- Literature.
"This year, 2006, marks the 25th anniversary of the identification of AIDS, 10 years since the introduction of antiretroviral therapy, and five years since United Nations member states unanimously adopted the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on AIDS. And still, 25 years after the first AIDS cases were reported, there is no sign of a halt to the pandemic, which is likely to spread to every corner of the globe, said Peter Piot, head of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)".
Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, Primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, "outlined three priorities for achieving a world free from AIDS: [1] a comprehensive, holistic and integrated approach by all stakeholders in dealing with the pandemic; [2] constructive and creative partnerships between governments, the private sector and the broad church of civil society organizations including faith communities; and [3] a huge resource mobilization in order to curtail the spread of the pandemic".