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'Mobilize Churches in Fight Against AIDS' Says World Vision Presenter at Barcelona AIDS Conference
July 6, 2002
BARCELONA -- On a poor and diverse continent devastated by AIDS, one institution has the human resources, infrastructure and moral authority to fight the disease: the church. Yet churches and faith-based institutions, which, in tens of thousands of communities, are on the front lines caring for AIDS patients and their survivors, are underrepresented at the AIDS 2002 Conference in Barcelona July 7-12. “The Church must join governments, employers, schools, private aid groups and community-based organizations to implement AIDS care and prevention programs that work,” said Christo Greyling, a South African clergyman and AIDS activist who also is HIV-positive.
WHO: Christo Greyling is World Vision’s HIV/AIDS Coordinator for South
Africa and Lesotho. A hemophiliac, Greyling tested positive for HIV while attending theological seminary in 1987. He publicly disclosed his HIV status in 1992, while serving as a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. Greyling will present a poster at the July 7-12 World AIDS Conference in Barcelona on “Mobilizing local congregations towards prevention and care.”
WHEN: 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. EDT Sunday, July 7.
WHERE: By phone from Barcelona
WHAT: The international humanitarian organization World Vision, which has been tackling the AIDS issue on the ground since 1990, will have 11 representatives at Barcelona, including two clergy members who themselves are HIV-positive. Several staff, including Greyling, will be presenters.
| CONTACT: | | Elaine Bole (703) 932-7189 cell; (888) 758-8122 pager |
| | Sheryl Watkins (253) 815-2246 office; 888-787-3056 pager |
Founded in 1950, World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization, serving the world's poorest children and families in nearly 100 countries.
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