In the last in our series on Ugandan Aids
activists, Ayo Akinfe speaks to Reverend Canon Gideon Byamugisha,
the first African religious leader to openly declare his HIV positive status
Photo Peter Williams
Passionately
dedicated to combating HIV stigma, Uganda’s Reverend Canon Gideon Byamugisha,
is extending his fight against prejudice to hitherto untouched frontiers.
A clergyman in a continent where both religious and cultural communities often
view HIV as a scourge, the Canon has fought a noble uphill battle since 1992,
with fantastic results.
The Canon learned he was HIV positive only weeks after the sudden death of
his 25 year old wife from an Aids-related illness. The doctors only confirmed
her HIV status to him after her death. Like many living with HIV, he is not
100 per cent sure how or when he was infected: through sex or medical injections,
either is possible, he says.
Founder of the African Network for Religious Leaders Living With or Personally
Affected by HIV/Aids (Anerela+), Canon Byamugisha took it upon himself to
dispel the image of HIV as a self-inflicted problem.
In both the church and across Africa generally, HIV has been stigmatised as
a disease that affects the promiscuous and sexually irresponsible. But, due
the tireless efforts of the likes of Canon Byamugisha, this image is now slowly
changing.
Pan-African
Diagnosed in 1992, Canon Byamugisha was the first African religious leader
to go public with his HIV status. Due to the widespread publicity his case
received, he got calls from other clergy, many of whom were also living with
HIV. After discussion, these clergymen and women formed an association to
represent their needs and their perspectives. Finally founded in 2002, 10
years after the Canon’s diagnosis, Anerela held its first meeting in
Harare, Zimbabwe. Later that year, the network’s 48 members held a second
meeting where the organisation formally established itself as a pan-African
body.
Cannon Byamugisha said: “We currently operate in 12 countries across
Africa, ranging from Nigeria to South Africa, and are looking to expand further.
We currently have 1,300 members, including Muslim members and some traditional
religious leaders too.”
Infected and affected
Anerela defines a religious leader as a person of any religion who holds a
leadership position of some sort in any faith community, congregation or denomination.
This includes men and women who have been ordained within their particular
faith, but can also include leaders from faiths without these positions.
While Anerela’s core values do not demand members or would-be members
disclose their HIV status, they ask interested people to state how they think
they qualify for membership. The Canon said normally network members were
affected in one way or another, either directly or with a spouse, child or
parent living with HIV.
Stimulating congregations
Canon Byamugisha stressed that Anerela has set itself the task of combating
the major problems associated with HIV: stigma, shame, denial, discrimination,
inaction and mis-action. Anerela, he said, seeks to empower and equip members
to address all these issues within their parishes and across their countries
at large.
“After we have empowered them, the second step is that they should stimulate
congregational responses within their churches. We also want to ensure that
they participate in policy formation within their nations,” he said.
Inaction and mis-action
He stressed that identifying ‘mis-action’ or doing the wrong thing
is also central to Anerela’s operations. Not addressing this problem
could be as bad as doing nothing.
To prevent this, much effort goes into educating clergymen that over-enthusiasm
can be counter-productive and that acting, just so they can be seen to be
doing something, is dangerous.
Canon Byamugisha added: “Mis-action could include them doing too much
but the wrong way. For instance, some churches say that you cannot get married
here unless you can produce a certificate showing you are HIV-free, which
in turn drives people away.”
Reaching
out
The network gets most of its funding from non-government organisations, including
Africa Aids, USAid and World Vision International. It has raised money from
private sources and will soon be approaching HIV pharmaceutical manufacturers.
“We have not approached the pharmaceuticals yet, but we will be talking
to these companies in the next phase of our operations. We will accept help
from anybody as long as they are willing to fight the stigma of Aids,”
said the Canon. As its profile grows and funding increases, the network’s
schedule gets busier. Canon Byamugisha says his schedule is increasingly hectic
as more people find out about Anerela and ally themselves with its operations.
“We go around Africa opening branches, doing advocacy and speaking in
churches who want to fight discrimination. We also take the message out to
a global audience.”
Emergency help
With accessibility to antiretroviral drugs in Africa slowly growing, Anerela
has found a diminishing need to get involved with the medical side.
On isolated occasions, the network has intervened on behalf of its members.
On one such occasion, a religious leader in Malawi had a CD4 count of 100
and they launched an emergency appeal to ensure he got the necessary treatment
on time.
Confident that, with interventions like this and its other activities, Anerela
can only grow from strength to strength, Canon Byamugisha is optimistic about
the future.
“We see ourselves expanding as long as stigma, shame and denial still
prevail. We will forge ahead to achieve a stigma-free world so those who want
treatment can get it without shame or embarrassment. We have already achieved
much in terms of getting rid of the shame that was attached to the problem
of HIV.”
Progress in action
He cites his own situation as the most visible sign of progress made in this
regard. Despite being diagnosed as HIV positive, Canon Byamugisha was promoted
in 2000, becoming the first HIV positive canon in Africa.
“The fact I have been made a canon shows progress. We have now established
the fact that promotion within the church is not based on your health.”
He said his promotion sent and out a positive message to the world that HIV
was no longer regarded as an untouch- able scourge. In what can only be described
as a further vote of confidence, the church has not only promoted him, but
made him responsible for two cathedrals: his local St Paul’s in Kampala
and the Holy Cross in Lusaka.
International voice
So far so good for Anerela; in just under four years, it has gone from being
a group of affected clergymen to finding an international voice.
It now gets invitations to speak at global forums such as the United Nations,
where its views feed in to the UN’s policy formulation programme. The
Canon also sits on the board of the Africa Think Tank of HIV Management, which
brings together clergy, NGOs, private operators, policy-makers and health
professionals.
Anerela’s vision is of an Africa where HIV and Aids-related stigma,
transmissions and deaths are eliminated. Its strategy of empowering religious
leaders personally affected by HIV to live positively and openly as agents
of hope seems to be sucessful. On the whole Anerela appears to be winning
this battle, thanks to people like Canon Byamugisha.
• www.anerela.org
