ABOUT SAHAC
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The Need. South Africa has the highest number of HIV infections of any country in the world: 5.7 million infected out of 47.9 million total population. As many as 1,000 people die daily from AIDS-related illnesses. An estimated 1,500 are newly infected daily. More than 1 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Thirty two percent of pregnant women have the HIV virus.
The Call. The prophet Isaiah calls God’s people to break the bonds of wickedness, oppression and affliction (Isaiah 58). Jesus says that what his followers do to the “least of these,” we have done to him (Matthew 25). The Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Collaboration (SAHAC) seeks to offer a passionate, Christian response to the affliction of HIV/AIDS, beginning in South Africa.
Goal. The goal of the initiative is to reduce the rate of HIV/AIDS infection 30-50% within five years in participating communities. This is in line with reductions seen in Uganda where prevalence among pregnant women declined from 20.6% in to 6.1%, a two-thirds reduction, in less than a decade.
Strategy. SAHAC’s focus is HIV prevention among teens and pre-teens. SAHAC aims to work through the church to catalyze community sectors—church, school, health care, government, business—to work in concert to turn the tide of beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors among youth that contribute to HIV infection. Our ultimate vision is to seed a youth movement—a positive counter-epidemic—in which youth make the case for sexual fidelity with each other.
Pilot Project. In March, 2006, after 18 months of research and planning, SAHAC launched a pilot project in Orlando East, one of the Soweto townships southwest of Johannesburg. The pilot project comprises four interlocking Focus Areas: Community Health, Church Engagement, Job Creation and Youth Empowerment.
SAHAC is a Member of Christian Connections for International Health http://www.ccih.org/
• • • • •
The Need. South Africa has the highest number of HIV infections of any country in the world: 5.7 million infected out of 47.9 million total population. As many as 1,000 people die daily from AIDS-related illnesses. An estimated 1,500 are newly infected daily. More than 1 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Thirty two percent of pregnant women have the HIV virus.
The Call. The prophet Isaiah calls God’s people to break the bonds of wickedness, oppression and affliction (Isaiah 58). Jesus says that what his followers do to the “least of these,” we have done to him (Matthew 25). The Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Collaboration (SAHAC) seeks to offer a passionate, Christian response to the affliction of HIV/AIDS, beginning in South Africa.
Goal. The goal of the initiative is to reduce the rate of HIV/AIDS infection 30-50% within five years in participating communities. This is in line with reductions seen in Uganda where prevalence among pregnant women declined from 20.6% in to 6.1%, a two-thirds reduction, in less than a decade.
Strategy. SAHAC’s focus is HIV prevention among teens and pre-teens. SAHAC aims to work through the church to catalyze community sectors—church, school, health care, government, business—to work in concert to turn the tide of beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors among youth that contribute to HIV infection. Our ultimate vision is to seed a youth movement—a positive counter-epidemic—in which youth make the case for sexual fidelity with each other.
Pilot Project. In March, 2006, after 18 months of research and planning, SAHAC launched a pilot project in Orlando East, one of the Soweto townships southwest of Johannesburg. The pilot project comprises four interlocking Focus Areas: Community Health, Church Engagement, Job Creation and Youth Empowerment.
SAHAC is a Member of Christian Connections for International Health http://www.ccih.org/
SOUTH AFRICA - P.O. BOX 570 ORLANDO EAST 1804, SOUTH AFRICA | NORTH AMERICA - 2850 KALAMAZOO AVENUE SE. GRAND RAPIDS, MI, 49560 USA
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