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The Christian HIV/AIDS Alliance (CHAA) exists to facilitate a compassionate, strategic Christian response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. CHAA recognises the invaluable part that the Christian community has to play in bringing life in the face of death and hope in the face of despair, through servant-hearted advocacy and action. Therefore our priorities are:
Engaging the Church
Seek to raise awareness of this worldwide disease and its consequences (Isaiah1:17)
Challenge silence, inertia and judgemental attitudes in the church and recognise the need to allow God to change our hearts (Lam 2:19, Eph 4:23)
Urge Christians everywhere to intercede for a solution to this crisis, believing that as we pray, God will act to bring transformation (John 10:10)
Help to engage and encourage the national and local church, individuals, groups and organisations in unbiased, practical and prayerful action on behalf of those affected by this disease (James 1:22, 1John 3:18)
HIV Prevention
Provide clear information about how HIV/AIDS is transmitted, how it can be prevented and encourage ways of communication that are creative, relevant and reflect good practice
Partner with churches, organisations and governments worldwide to channel resources appropriately and effectively for education, training and outreach
Live and promote a lifestyle based on the values of God's Kingdom, that lead to life and wholeness
Encourage sensitive, open discussion on sex, sexuality and gender issues; seeking to apply Biblical principles
Promote the ideal of pre-marital abstinence and mutual faithfulness within the marriage relationship between a man and a woman
Promote Biblical principles that contribute to effective parenting and recognise the central role of the family in building communities and preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS
Address the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, and encourage interventions such as Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) which help to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS
Recognise the part that poverty has to play in rendering individuals, families and communities more susceptible to acquiring HIV/AIDS. We will ensure that our interventions are integrated in approach, family focused, community oriented, and lead to social uplifting and empowerment
Care of orphans and vulnerable children
Raise awareness of God's heart for children and His mandate that we should, “care for orphans and widows in their distress†(James 1:27). Act and speak out with and on behalf of orphans and other at-risk children, and promote interventions that will ensure their nurture and well-being
Raise awareness of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), and promote interventions that protect orphans and vulnerable children from abuse and exploitation
Compassionate care
Help identify, promote and enable the implementation of community-based, family-focused models of care for children and adults affected by HIV/AIDS, that reflect good practice
Provide clear, culturally relevant information and materials relating to the safe and effective care of children and adults living with HIV/AIDS
Empower communities to care for those affected by HIV/AIDS in locally appropriate ways, by enabling them to access information, training, financial and material support. This must be based on their perceived needs and experience and should enhance sustainability and local ownership
Recognise the part that poverty has to play in increasing sickness and mortality in people with HIV/AIDS, and promote interventions that are integrated, multi-sectoral, and which address basic developmental issues.
Advocacy
Encourage the Christian community worldwide to use its voice and influence to speak out with those who are marginalised and discriminated against as a result of their HIV status, calling for equal access to treatment and care
Campaign for transformation at every level so that structures and values that perpetuate poverty are replaced by values that enhance life
Working in unity
Recognise God's fundamental mandate that as His people we are to live and work in unity. We will seek to collaborate with others working in the field of HIV/AIDS through networking, sharing of knowledge, skills and resources in a spirit of humility
Hope for the world
Present the hope that is in the Lord Jesus Christ; "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16)
We believe that the HIV/AIDS pandemic offers one of the greatest challenges and opportunities of our day to demonstrate the nature of God and His kingdom, and to bring about transformation and restoration in the Name of Jesus.
Funding
CHAA only receives funding from its member organisations and does not solicit funding from elsewhere. We do not give out grants but point applicants to our members websites for more information.
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