Delegates from the Episcopal Church’s Province IX and the Episcopal Church Center, along with the provinces of the Southern Cone, West Indies, Brazil and Central America, gathered in El Salvador on Nov. 11 for the region’s first Anglican HIV/AIDS Conference.

Delegates to the conference, which was sponsored by Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), discussed prevention and education strategies for the region. In Latin America, 2 million people live with the disease, while the Caribbean has the second highest rate of infection in the world, after sub-Saharan African. Within Latin America and the Caribbean, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, and Brazil are among the hardest-hit nations, some with prevalence rates of over 2 percent of the population.

“Our partnerships are working hard to reduce stigma and discrimination for those who have HIV, serving in the Anglican and Episcopal hospitals and clinics to treat people with HIV, creating jobs and income-generating opportunities for people who have no where else to go, and educating young people and teachers in schools and community centers,” said Abagail Nelson, ERD’s vice president for program.

ERD has taken an aggressive approach to combating the spread of HIV/AIDS and its attendant human tragedies. The organization partners with local ecumenical and Anglican agencies in Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland, and is expanding its work in Honduras, El Salvador, Brazil and Peru.

The Anglican conference was part of the larger Central American Congress on STD/HIV/AIDS (CONCASIDA). The presidents of Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador attended the gathering, as well as the health ministers from Honduras and Nicaragua.

In remarks during the closing session of the CONCASIDA plenary, Peter Piot, executive director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, called on Church, government and civic leaders to lend their support to the program. “The history of AIDS has shown us that when we are united, people win,” Dr. Piot said. “Success depends on each of us truly being committed to tackling this exceptional crisis.”

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