Millennium Development Goal #6
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
"Jesus went throughout Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues and
proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and
curing every disease and every sickness among the people."
- Matthew 4:23
The Prayer
Let us pray for an end to the pandemic disease throughout the world, particularly the scourges of HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis; that plagues of death may no longer fuel poverty, destabilize nations, and inhibit reconciliation and restoration throughout the world.
O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of all who suffer: Grant your saving health to all who are afflicted by disease throughout the world. Bless the labors of all who minister to the sick, and unite the wills of nations and peoples in seeking an end to the pandemics of our age; that sickness may be turned to health, sorrow turned to joy, and mourning turned to praise of your Holy Name. God of love, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
See also:
An Evening Prayer service for MDGs #4 & 6 from St. Paul's Cathedral, London
The Challenge
Every day, 8000 people die of AIDS-related conditions or some 3 million deaths per year. Only 400 000 of the five to six million people in the advanced stage of the disease had access to the anti-retroviral therapy in developing countries at the end of 2003.
There are 8.8 million new cases of tuberculosis (TB) a year. There are 5500 deaths a day, or million deaths worldwide each year from TB. Some 80% of this morbidity and mortality from TB falls on 22 high-burden countries.
There are almost 300 million cases of acute cases of malaria each year. More than a million cases of malaria are fatal each year. Some 90% of the burden falls on tropical Africa, where malaria is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in children under five years of age.
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.
Click here for targets and progress indicators.
Work to end AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
People are protected from mosquitoes and other bugs that spread disease and make people sick, in simple ways like mosquito nets or with medicine to make them better again.
Source: Kenyon Conference 2007 Children's Program - Experiencing the MDGs
El objetivo en Espanol
Haber detenido y comenzado a reducir, para el año 2015, la propagación del VIH/SIDA. Haber comenzado a reducir, para el año 2015, la incidencia del paludismo y otras enfermedades graves.
How Are We Doing?
Are we on track to meet MDG #6 by 2015? Find out at:
MDGMonitor - basic, easy to navigate
GapMinder MDG Charts - This site is great ... moving graphics show how the development of all countries by the indicators you choose. You can even get country-specific charts (for your companion diocese, for example)
Human Development Trends Movable Charts -- More from gapminder, see graphic demonstrations of MDG trends past, present and future.
UN Human Development Report - much more detailed, looks at MDGs through lens of climate change.
Printable Progress Chart on all 8 MDGs
Did You Know...
In sub-Saharan Africa, there are currently 4.1 million people with AIDS who are in immediate need of life-saving anti-retroviral drugs. (Source:WTO)
Currently more than 11 million children in Africa have lost at least one parent to HIV/AIDS; that number is expected to reach 20 million by 2010. (Source:UNAIDS/UNICEF)
There are 42 million people living with HIV and AIDS worldwide. It is a global emergency claiming approximately 8,000 lives every day in some of the poorest countries. (Source:Oxfam)
1 in every 100 people worldwide is HIV positive: One third of them are aged 15-24.(Source:ActionAid UK)
Approximately 40% of the world's population-mostly those living in the world's poorest countries-is at risk of contracting malaria. Malaria causes more than 300 million acute illnesses and at least one million deaths annually.
Organizations that support MDG #6:
Episcopal Relief and Development - Learn about ERD's work with MDG #6 here.
MDG Inspiration Fund - A major challenge effort of the Episcopal Church, Christian AID and Hope Africa to raise $3 million to save 700,000 people from dying from malaria.
Nets For Life - An incredibly effective Anglican Communion cooperative effort to eradicate malaria, a prime beneficiary of the MDG Inspiration Fund.Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance -- GAIA partners with religious organizations in resource-poor countries (particularly Malawi) for community-based HIV prevention and care.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB & Malaria -- the single most effective multilateral organization for these global public health crises.
Doctors Without Borders -- supplies food, clean water and medicines to children and adults throughout the world. Winner of the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize. See CharityNavigator's Rating Page on Doctors Without Borders - 4 stars (highest rating)
Use CharityNavigator to search for and vet organizations that work toward this goal.
What One Can Do - Preach
Scripture that references our call to heal the brokenness of suffering and death from preventable disease:
Matthew 4:23 – “ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.”
Matthew 8:16-17 – “That evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.’”
Psalm 103:2-3 – “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits— who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases.”
Acts 9:32-34 – “ Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralysed. Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!’ And immediately he got up.”
Mark 2:1-12 – Jesus heals the paralytic
2Kings 5:1-14 – cleansing of Naaman the Syrian
Exodus 15:26 – “I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.’”
Jesus healing lepers, blind, deaf, woman with flow of blood,
For scriptural foundations for all 8 MDGs, click here for "The MDGs - Straight From Scripture"
For a comprehensive list of Peace and Justice related scriptures, click here.
What did we miss? Email us your scriptural references to our call to heal the brokenness of suffering and death from preventable disease.
Sermons about eradicating suffering and death from preventable disease:
Submit your sermons about eradicating suffering and death from preventable disease, here.
What One Can Do - Activities
Ways you can make MDG #6 come alive for your congregation:
"The Net Effect" -- This one's easy. Get a bunch of cheap mosquito netting (you can order online here) and put them up in the parish hall. Cut it into small pieces and have people pin it to their clothes, or make veils for their heads or do anything else creative with it. What about a chasuble made of mosquito nets? To each piece of netting pin a tag that says "A child dies of malaria every 30 seconds. That death could be prevented with a $5 bednet." Have information about NetsForLife and (if applicable and available) statistics about malaria in your companion diocese. If you really want to go all out, do like this person and make your own mosquito costume ... and have that person going around "biting" people -- asking them NOT to help stop malaria because, really it's so easy to stop and you're really happy that we're not doing anything!Another idea from Evelyn Piety of West Tennessee: ERD is making one "real" bednet per diocese available because there have been so many requests for them. Work with your ERD diocesan rep to get one, set it up at convention with a cot or air mattress underneath it and "rent" out nap time for a contribution to Nets For Life. Ann Fontaine of Wyoming reports that ERD also provides a "mosquito template" for kids to color and use to pledge to buy nets. If you can't get ahold of your ERD diocesan rep, contact ERD's Luke Fodor and he'll help you out.
Submit your activities about eradicating suffering and death from preventable disease, here.
What One Can Do - Children/Youth Activities
Ways you can make MDG #6 come alive for children and youth:
Beads for Life -- Creating, purchasing and donating funds from handmade beads. (Page 10 - Kenyon Conference Children's Conference: Experiencing the MDGs)
What Family Looks Like -- Exploring and understanding family relationships, including of world communities. (Page 10 - Kenyon Conference Children's Conference: Experiencing the MDGs)
Books about eradicating suffering and death from preventable disease.
Black Death: AIDS in Africa by Susan Hunter -- One of the best technical but readable books about the AIDS epidemic in Africa
28: Stories of AIDS in Africa, by Stephenie Nolen -- "Nolen puts a very human face on HIV/AIDS in Africa, verbally and visually. A photograph accompanies each of the book's 28 personal histories (one subject stands for one million infected people in sub-Saharan Africa)." (Booklist)
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World, by Tracey Kidder -- An amazing and inspiring story of Paul Farmer, who is revolutionizing global public health. A GREAT bookclub book!
The Hope Factor: Engaging the Church in the HIV/AIDS Crisis by Tetsunao Yamamori - The Hope Factor captures the findings of some of the world's top minds and hearts dealing with the issue of AIDS. It shows how we in the Western church can come alongside and help people impacted by AIDS. Academicians, pastors, AIDS patients, and physicians from around the world share hardwon insights that will help you and your church or organization make a difference in practical ways.
General books about the MDGs
What Can One Person Do: Faith to Heal a Broken World, by Sabina Alkire and Edmund Newell. - The best primer on the MDGs. A great mix of information, stories, statistics, prayers, resources, practical ideas and discussion questions. Perfect for individual or group study.
Movies/video about eradicating suffering and death from preventable disease
A Closer Walk -- An excellent documentary on the global AIDS crisis, narrated by Glenn Close and Will Smith
Lifecycles: A Story of AIDS in Malawi -- a 57 minute documentary that explores the themes of sex, witchcraft, poverty, death and religion in relation to AIDS.
ABC News 20/20 - AIDS in Namibia -- a segment on the popular newsmagazine show - available on amazon.com.
"In This White House" -- The West Wing, Season 2 DVD -- an episode of the NBC drama that deals with the AIDS pandemic in an African nation, giving time to multiple points of view.
Brazil: Winning Against AIDS (2002) and Crisis Control: Stemming the Spread of HIV/AIDS (2004) - two episodes in the Life series. The first (27 minutes) highlights how Brazil has successfully manufactured its own HIV drugs to stabilize the epidemic. The latter (26 minutes) looks at more recent campaigns in the Ukraine and Zambia.
Malaria: Killer Number One (2006) - Malaria kills 3 million people yearly, yet there are far fewer movies about the disease than about HIV/AIDS. Produced by African filmmakers, the documentary focuses on efforts to combat the disease in rural Ethiopia.
General movies/videos about the MDGs
The Girl in the Cafe (2005) - A sweet romance set at a G8 Summit with the subtext being conversation and debate about the Millennium Development Goals. A good combination of passion and impassioned approaches tied up in a moving and entertaining package. A beautiful movie. (Some brief nudity - if you're showing this to a youth group, be aware)
Submit your books and movies about eradicating suffering and death from preventable disease, here.
Click here for the reading list for the Rev. Ian Douglas' EDS course Contemporary Issues in World Christianity, which includes readings on globalization/international debt, the environmental crisis, HIV/AIDS and women's empowerment, the effect of colonialism and neo-colonialism and more.
Websites with more resources/activities about MDG #6
endpoverty2015.org - The Millennium Campaign's MDG #6 page
http://www.povertymap.net/ - great library of poverty maps and other useful resources
www.thebody.com - "The Complete HIV/AIDS Resource"
Nets For Life Africa -- An incredibly effective Anglican Communion cooperative effort to eradicate malaria
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB & Malaria -- the single most effective multilateral organization for these global public health crises.
www.borgenproject.org -- poverty reduction through political accountability. Great eye-opening statistics and studies.
What One Person Can Do
Stories about One Person working to eradicate suffering and death from preventable disease
Submit your One Person stories about eradicating suffering and death from preventable disease, here.
What One Congregation Can Do
Stories about One Congregation working to eradicate suffering and death from preventable disease
What One Diocese Can Do
Stories about One Diocese working to eradicate suffering and death from preventable disease
What One Church Can Do
Stories about The Episcopal Church working to eradicate suffering and death from preventable disease
Other Resources
Information and resources about eradicating extreme hunger and poverty
The MDGs: They Are About Children - information about how this MDG (and others) effects children
What One Has Said
Quotes about eradicating suffering and death from preventable disease
"Christ's example is being demeaned by the church if they ignore the new leprosy, which is AIDS. The church is the sleeping giant here. If it wakes up to what's really going on in the rest of the world, it has a real role to play. If it doesn't, it will be irrelevant." - Bono
"We've taken on the major health problems of the poorest - tuberculosis, maternal mortality, AIDS, malaria - in four countries. We've scored some victories in the sense that we've cured or treated thousands and changed the discourse about what is possible." - Paul Farmer*
"For me, an area of moral clarity is: you're in front of someone who's suffering and you have the tools at your disposal to alleviate that suffering or even eradicate it - and you act!" *
"It is clear that the pharmaceutical industry is not, by any stretch of the imagination, doing enough to ensure that the poor have access to adequate medical care." *
"Anywhere you have extreme poverty and no national health insurance, no promise of health care regardless of social standing, that's where you see the sharp limitations of market-based health care." *
"I can also show you that people from all walks of life agree that someone who is sick deserves. . . compassion and care." *
"Since I do not believe that there should be different recommendations for people living in the Bronx and people living in Manhattan, I am uncomfortable making different recommendations for my patients in Boston and in Haiti. . . (And) I recommend the same therapies for all humans with HIV. There is no reason to believe that physiologic responses to therapy will vary across lines of class, culture, race or nationality." *
"The only way to do the Human Rights thing is to do the right thing Medically." *
"In fact, it seems to me that making strategic alliances across national borders in order to treat HIV among the world's poor is one of the last great hopes of solidarity across a widening divide." *
"I would argue that a social justice approach should be central to medicine and utilized to be central to public health. This could be very simple: The well should take care of the sick." - *Paul Farmer
"AIDS and Malaria and TB are National Security Issues. A worldwide program to get a start on dealing with these issues would cost about $25 billion... It's, what, a few months in Iraq." - Jared Diamond
"Even die-hard fans of the market acknowledge that TB care should be free. Why? Because it's an airborne disease and treatment equals prevention." - Paul Farmer
Submit your favorite quotes about eradicating suffering and death from preventable disease, here.
