AEGiS-14IAC: Buddhism and HIV/AIDS prevention and care.

14th International AIDS Conference

Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

Buddhism and HIV/AIDS prevention and care.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. E11428)

Maund LJ
Sangha Metta Project, Chiang Mai, Thailand

buddhism and hiv/aids prevention and care

DESCRIPTION: buddhist monks and nuns in south and southeast asia have united in the fight against aids. working as a network under the sangha metta project, a large number of monks and nuns from laos, cambodia, thailand, myanmar and china, as well as bhutan, are actively engaged in hiv/aids prevention and care, prevention meaning preventing new infections, preventing viral transmission and preventing socio-economic impacts; care means caring for people with hiv, people with arc and people with full-blown aids, as well as caring for families and communities affected by aids. with local schools and communities, they conduct education and awareness raising programmes for youth and community leaders, thus helping reduce stigma and discrimination. they set up support groups for hiv+ people, give counseling and meditation training, link them up with existing welfare programmes, coordinate vocational skills training and income generation activities. with the support groups they provide day care for infected and affected children. they advise positive community members on care and traditional medicines for preventing and treating opportunistic diseases. with the help of monks and nuns, families and communities give home and community-based care for terminally ill patients. monks and nuns provide pre-death counseling. at the time of death, monks and nuns help organize funerals and donate necessary items, thus reducing the economic burden of the family. orphaned children are cared for by temples, given ordination, lodging, food and schooling. lessons learned: utilizing local resources and using their temple as a base monks and nuns are scaling down the aids epidemic from a national to a manageable community level.

RECOMMENDATIONS: what they are doing is fulfilling the responsibility that they, as religious leaders, have in ensuring the peace, happiness and well being of all members of their congregation.

Keywords: AEGIS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV Infections, Buddhism, HIV Seropositivity, Counseling, AIDS-Related Complex, Family Characteristics, Family, Caregivers, Income, Thailand, Asia, Southeastern, China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Bhutan, Human, Child, prevention & control, Economics, Education

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E11428