CUAHA is an ecumenical network whose main task is uniting churches and creating a shared commitment to HIV and AIDS issues. Through capacity-building and the exchange of ideas and experiences, the network helps churches and faith-based organisations build more effective programmes to tackle the epidemic.
In other words, our mission is to promote...
- Economic Development and Empowerment
- Justice and Human Rights
- Caring and Support
- Deepened Spirituality
... through supporting member churches as an ecumenical network in collaboration with other entities of civil society.
In practice, CUAHA is a united and coordinated effort by a number of Southern and Eastern African and Finnish churches and faith-based organisations to scale up and improve the work agaist the HIV epidemic and to improve the lives of millions of people living with the virus.
The HIV epidemic affects entire societies: it challenges states, communities, families and individuals to change their attitudes and join forces. CUAHA is a platform where faith-based communities come together to build these bridges of unity and co-operation.
CUAHA members include Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Orthodox and Pentecostal churches and organisations, non-denominational Christian groups and multi-faith movements. The network has members in [country list; link to members & partners; link to country teams.]
So why is it so important that churches get involved in HIV work?
In Southern and Eastern Africa the local religious community tends to be trusted and respected by the people, often much more so than any other institution. Put all the congregations of one area together and you have reached virtually everyone, from the posh to the penniless, from the illiterate to the educators.
This - the ability to reach out to all those different individuals that form a society - happens to be one of the great challenges of HIV work. That's why congregations' participation is indispensable in the struggle against HIV and AIDS.
Churches reach people and influence their attitudes. CUAHA recognises this and wants to help churches use that influence responsibly and well.
CUAHA believes that churches and religious communities should work on four fronts in their HIV work.
First, to mobilize resources for development and empowerment;
Second, to defend justice and human rights;
Third, to provide care and support;
Fourth, to promote a deepened spirituality among their members.
To reach these aims, CUAHA believes that churches must be prepared to work together across denominational lines and, united, take the lead in the movement against HIV and AIDS.
CUAHA is a forum where its members can realize shared projects. This means that a large part of CUAHA's resources come from members themselves: they participate in project costs by providing funds, office space and staff, among other things.
CUAHA's role is a connecting one. When a member church in one country is planning, for example, a programme that targets slum youth, the network can help them find advice, resources and materials through other members who already have built similar programmes. Once the programme is running, CUAHA can once again help other members learn from it and implement it as a part of their own activities.
The network itself runs a number of advocacy-related activities, for example the Ambassadors of Hope [link] programme that aims at sending a positive, life-affirming message through HIV-positive role models in different CUAHA countries.
When CUAHA was founded in 2002, the idea of churches joining forces to coordinate their efforts against the HIV epidemic had already been discussed for years. Eventually the wish found a fertile ground in Finland, where many Southern and Eastern African churches already had partners.
The network's first meeting in Dar es Salaam found that members needed, above all, training. Their own and their partners' staff wanted to be trained in grassroots-level HIV work, communications and project management; there was also an urgent need for theological and ethical discussion about the epidemic, especially across denominational lines.
CUAHA grew fast, starting with 20 members in 2002 and nearly tripling its size in the five years that followed. Despite the challenges posed by the growth, the network managed to plant its feet on the ground quickly, launching its first large projects in the first years of its existence and establishing strong relationships with grassroots organisations and national AIDS institutes in different African countries.