Quotes and perspectives

From the Bible: Psalm 146:9; Isaiah 58:10; Matthew 25:35-40; James 1:27

From those affected in Malawi:

“I always thought I would live a happy life with my beautiful wife, working hard on my land for my children’s future. But the story has come out differently because of this sickness.”
—Vincent Friday cares for two orphans and his own two children, and he likely has AIDS.

“There are three people a week from the congregation who die, on average. I conduct the funerals myself, and I try to visit all those who are seriously sick, though that keeps me busy until late at night every day.”
—Pastor Mchewere Banda’s church cares for 300 orphans left by church members who died of AIDS.

From Christian leaders:

“The crisis of AIDS orphans cries out for the kind of response only Christians can deliver: one that combines compassion with a respect for the truth.”
—Chuck Colson, president of Prison Fellowship Ministries

“This global pandemic is the Church’s greatest opportunity to serve. With more than 2 billion members worldwide, the Church has the largest distribution network on the planet. If we can teach the Church how to minister to those with HIV/AIDS and extend a helping hand in local communities and around the world, we can win this life-threatening battle.”
— Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose Driven Life

From governmental and organizational leaders:

“The ordinary people of the continent and the world . . . if anyone cared to ask their opinion, wish that the dispute about the primary of politics or science be put on the back burner and that we proceed to address the needs and concerns of those suffering and dying . . . . History will judge us harshly if we fail to do so now, and right now.”
—Nelson Mandela, at the 13th International AIDS Conference

“It’s as though the Black Death were going on in Europe in the 14th century, and China were sitting on the cure and saying, ‘Why should we help?’ We would consider that the crime of the millennium if that happened, and yet we seem to be able to accommodate this without much trouble.”
— Jeffrey Sachs, Harvard economist and lead of the World Health Organization advisory commission on macroeconomics and health

From the medical community:

“By any criterion, AIDS must be considered the Great Plague of the 20th century.”
—Dr. Neal Nathanson, former director of the National Institutes of Health Office of AIDS Research

“The first reaction is, ‘That’s impossible. We could never spend those kind of resources.’ Then you have to remember, that’s how much we spend on health care in the United States every day. It makes you wonder what’s wrong with us, and how history will judge our response.”
— William H. Foege, former director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on estimates of $3 billion per year to fund global AIDS prevention


Because World Vision is on the front lines of the HIV and AIDS crisis in many of our projects worldwide, we are available as a resource for you. Call the Hope Line at World Vision, 1.888.303.2003.