WCC NEWS: Religious leaders in Zimbabwe participate in male engagement workshop

Religious leaders are the ultimate game changers in mobilizing men and boys to provide effective responses to HIV, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender-based violence, and to promote comprehensive sexuality education. This was an important message from a training of trainers workshop in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 29September. As they are rooted in community, respected, and influential, religious leaders are well-placed to promote men’s uptake of services, said local experts. Photo:UNAIDS 05 October 2022 Over 50 senior religious leaders, theological educators, and faith-based HIV activists, including from the International Network of Religious Leaders living with or personally affected by HIV and AIDS, participated in the two-day workshop which was organized by UNAIDS in partnership with the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy Southern Africa Regional Office based in Harare. The workshop was convened to acquaint religious leaders with the newly developed toolkit for enhancing male engagement. Participants indicated that they were motivated to engage men and boys within their faith communities and beyond for better health and development outcomes. Faith leaders were drawn from prominent religious groups including Christian, Islamic, and the African Traditional Religions. They were represented by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference, Union for the Development of Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe, Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs in Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe National Association of Traditional Healers. UNAIDS and the WCC are continuing with their collaboration and are supporting the rolling out of the male engagement initiative to the different faith communities. The toolkit on effective male engagement for religious leaders will be available for use by the wider community, thereby contributing towards greater uptake of services by men and boys. The goal is to ensure that the motto of “leaving no one behind” in the HIV response and global development agenda is actualized. UNAIDS Health and Healing Faith on the Fast Track HIV Campaign See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland