UUA President Calls for Global Commitment to Effective HIV/AIDS Prevention
December 2, 2008
Rev. William G. Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), spoke at an interfaith worship service (PDF) at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, DC, on December 1, the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day.Rev. Sinkford shared the podium with Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Rev. Dr. Bernice Powell Jackson, North American President of the World Council of Churches. They called for a global commitment to effective HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care. The speakers also emphasized the US government’s crucial role in addressing the prevention needs of marginalized communities and charting the course for a sustainable and cost-effective response to the global pandemic.
Rev. Sinkford has been a long-time advocate for HIV prevention policies based on proven strategies, such as comprehensive sexuality education. He said, “Every December 1st, I come to Washington to bear witness on World AIDS Day. I consider it a religious duty. But my friends, I do not want to be here twenty years from now. And I know you don’t either.”
Sinkford continued, “HIV/AIDS gains a foothold in the places where information and resources are scarce, but one of the most significant factors in the spread of HIV/AIDS is our failure to speak honestly about how the risk of transmission can be reduced. The abstinence-only programs sponsored for years by the U.S. government withhold from our brothers and sisters, in this country and around the world, the most crucial facts about protecting themselves. It is a terrible sin of omission.”
While the mood at the worship service was generally somber the reality of a new government coming to power in less than two months generated a palpable sense of hope. Speakers and attendees expressed an expectation that the incoming U.S. leadership will promote human rights and equality in HIV prevention efforts by designing policies and programs based on evidence rather than speculation. Rev. Sinkford addressed the need for religious progressives to approach the incoming administration with “honest support” and to maintain their prophetic voice. The Jubilee Singers, of All Souls Unitarian Church of Washington, DC, gave an emotionally evocative performance of music during the worship service which was followed by a candlelight vigil.
Adam Gerhardstein, Acting Director of the UUA’s Washington Office for Advocacy, said, “For years we have consistently called for our government to support HIV prevention programs that address the realities of people’s lives. What we hear from our President-elect’s transition team suggests that our calls might finally be heard. This is a hopeful sign for at-risk populations, such as women, youth and sex workers, but also for Unitarian Universalists who believe in the power of reason and our responsibilities to use it to guide our decision-making.”
For more information contact uuawo @ uua.org.
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Last updated on Thursday, June 3, 2010.
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