Faith Community Responses to HIV/AIDS

This training manual was developed to provide an overview of the HIV pandemic to Christian clergy, religious leaders, laity and church groups, and to sensitise participants of faith-based organisations on the current issues and challenges that PLWHA [People Living with HIV/AIDS] face. This publication is part of a series of four training manuals written for programme managers and trainers working on HIV/AIDS for use in building the capacity of nongovernmental organisations, faith-base groups, and communities.

Overview
The training curriculum provides an overview of the signs, symptoms, modes of transmission, and prevention of HIV/AIDS and can help to identify cultural and social factors that contribute to the pandemic's spread. It willorient participants to the various means by which faith communities can respond to HIV/AIDS, whether it is through care and counseling, education and outreach, or service delivery, along with helping participants to define what path to take to combat the pandemic. It will also assist participants in advocating and networking to reduce HIV/AIDS in their communities and churches. An additional benefit is the sensitisation of clergy and their congregations regardingbroader RH/family planning (FP) issues. CEDPA hopes that this curriculum will also be adapted for use with non-Christian groups.

How to Use This Manual
This manual is designed to be flexible. It contains basic information about HIV/AIDS and different ways in which the faith community can respond including teaching, counseling, IEC, and advocacy. A prototype five-day training schedule is included for about 20 participants; the trainer will need to determine the needs of the specific group and plan accordingly. In order to help facilitate this process, there are additional or alternative activities to choose from in many chapters. For example, when using this manual with a women's church group, the trainer would not need to include sessions on Integrating Messages into Sermons.

For clergy, the training can be divided into two parts:

• A three and a half day training session that ends with the counseling session.
• A follow-up training a few weeks later lasting two or three days that includes a debriefing for participants on using the counseling skills they learned previously and the rest of the sessions from the manual.

Some faith groups may have doctrine that conflicts with parts of the content. The trainer should decide how to best use the materials and adapt them as needed. Remember that this manual is intended for use by a variety of faith groups with differing beliefs. There is a great need for the faith community to respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and that response can take many forms. Every effort will help.

This manual is divided into seven chapters and is organised into a five-day training schedule. The trainer can also take material from several chapters andarrange it to meet specific training needs. Each chapter covers one thematic area and but each is divided into similar sub-sections and contains uniform components to facilitate flexibility.

Each chapter may contain these sections:

• Key Questions
• Introductions
• Objectives
• Overview
• Sample Lesson Plan
• Important Terms
• Activities and Handouts
• Notes to Trainers
• Trainer Resources
• Additional or Alternate Activities and Handouts

Click here to download the complete manual in PDF format, or order your print or CD-ROM version online.