A Pastor preaching in church
BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA
Helen Jackson in her book titled “AIDS AFRICA Continent in Crisis”, wrote that religious leaders continue to preach from the pulpit, while at the end of the day, they go and bury the dead.
What Jackson meant is that when it comes to health, and in this case HIV, preaching alone is not enough to stop the related deaths.
She suggests that some religious leaders spend time preaching to their congregations, while failing to encourage practical health measures.
And as a result, they end up conducting funerals for people who die from HIV-related illnesses.
According to Research Gate, religious leaders are vital in the fight against HIV, acting as key community members.
“They (religious leaders) shape public perception, combat stigma, and promote prevention.
“However their impact can be positive or negative depending on whether their messaging embraces modern public health tools or strictly relies on faith based morals,” reads the report from Research Gate.
And according to a report from the National Library of Medicine, in relation to young people; religious leaders have a role to play in HIV prevention among young people.
It is said they (religious leaders) can help in coming up with prevention programmes, tailored to prevent new infections of HIV among young people.
One local Pentecostal Pastor has been on the forefront of encouraging practical health measures in his church.
The man of cloth opened up during a Ministry of Health and Child Care Lenacapavir and HIV Prevention media training facilitated by OPHID and Health Communicators Forum Zimbabwe, sponsored by the United States Government.
He revealed that after meeting his then partner, who is now his wife, she opened that she was HIV positive, and this led to his journey on prevention options.
While some would just talk, Pastor Kulu (name changed to protect his identity), has been putting his words into action, promoting HIV prevention and he has used Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).
“I first started using oral PrEP (tablets), before I switched to the injection, (Cabotegravir: CAB-LA) and now I’m on the six months injection (Lenacapavir).
“I have taken PrEP, I’m still ongoing with PrEP and I’m also encouraging other men to do the same.
“But the other thing is as I’m standing here, I’m a Pastor. In the church where I go, we don’t just talk about casting out demons no, we urge people to go and get tested.
“We say the two people in a relationship should go and get tested, then you know your status.
“And when you have known your status there’s no point in telling the Pastor about the results,” said 70-year-old Pastor Kulu.
He reiterated that men should not shun getting tested, saying that once they know their status, they can take better care of themselves.
Added Pastor Kulu: “sometimes the problem with Pentecostal churches, when someone comes, we just lay hands and start praying, whilst may be we are dealing with a problem which needs professionals like doctors, who are trained for that and who also pray to God.
“We have got to tell people the truth, please go and get tested.”
He added: “When we go to our Pastors’ Forum, we always encourage each other to say please find about 15 minutes to talk about health, to encourage their congregants to go and get tested.”
And while new infections are also seen to be rising among adolescents, Pastor Kulu says they call experts to talk to the youths in their church.
“Normally what we do is we have youth programmes but me or the other Pastor, we don’t get into those programmes.
“We invite somebody who has more knowledge about these things because if you are Pastor and you speak in these programmes, you can be misquoted so we invite an outsider who is going to empower these youths.
“So after the (church) service, the resident Pastor will just say thank you so much and the job is done.”
Pastor Kulu said he would rather encourage people to go for HIV testing, access treatment where necessary and follow medical advice than pretend that prayer alone will solve everything.
Health experts have long encouraged collaboration between faith leaders and the health sector, saying churches are well placed to promote HIV testing, treatment adherence and other health interventions while helping to combat stigma.
And it is really commendable that Pastor Kulu is walking the talk, showing that belief alone is not enough, action is required.
