Seventh-day Adventists in East Zimbabwe have embarked on an AIDS awareness program they hope will radically improve understanding and prevention of AIDS within churches, and in surrounding communities. Adventist Orthodontic Services, in conjunction with Adventist Church leadership in east Zimbabwe, is sponsoring the project, which will target churches in the cities of Harare and Chitungwiza.

Rhoda Nthani, program coordinator, says that the program was started in order to address HIV/AIDS issues in Adventist churches. “Informal surveys we conducted in churches showed that nothing much was being done in terms of behavior change programs,” she says.

“HIV/AIDS statistics are alarming in Zimbabwe,” Nthani adds. “The government was on course in declaring a state of emergency. One in every four people in Zimbabwe is infected with HIV/AIDS, and more than 2,000 people die every week from HIV-related illnesses and diseases.”

Quoting statistics compiled by an international aid organization, Nthani notes that knowledge of AIDS and perception of risk is low in Zimbabwe, compared to that in neighboring Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia.

“The program, among other things, encourages participants to talk more openly about HIV/AIDS and to know their HIV status through testing,” explains Nthani. “We also want them to become more involved in the care of orphans whose parents have died of AIDS. Because our message is to the church, we are quick to insist that youth abstain from sex before marriage and married couples stick to their spouses only.”

Nthani hopes that through these awareness campaigns church members will not only work toward behavior change but be agents of change in their communities. She says the program is becoming popular and is filtering to other churches and schools. “It’s obvious to us that our members are passing the message around,” says Nthani. “Already we have received invitations from one Methodist church and a number of schools.”

Asked how the program operates, Nthani explains that Adventist churches in the targeted area are informed of the planned seminar and the most centrally located church is chosen as a place of meeting. She notes that though a larger number of those attending are women, men and young people are also drawn to the program. The program has been run in Adventist churches in Mufakose, Highfield and Seke townships.

The Adventist Orthodontic Clinic, located in Harare, is a service of the Adventist Church in eastern Africa. It sponsors AIDS awareness campaigns, evangelistic series in rural areas, and has established a scholarship fund for university students at Solusi University, Zimbabwe, and the University of Eastern Africa at Baraton, Kenya.