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McCullough of CWS Rallies People to the Cause at World AIDS Day Event
Rev. John McCullough addresses a World AIDS Day luncheon event in Washington DC looking at the role of the faith-based community in stopping violence against women and fighting AIDS.
Photo: Kathy McNeely/CWS
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Washington, DC -- At a Capitol Hill gathering to celebrate World AIDS Day, the head of global humanitarian agency Church World Service told the audience assembled in the Russell Senate Office that "faith communities are called to keep our promises and respond to the needs people living with HIV."
The Rev. John L. McCullough, executive director and chief executive officer of New York City-based Church World Service, exhorted the assembled guests to join CWS and the many organizations working to halt the pandemic in "lifting our voices to advocate for a robust U.S. government response to the needs of people living with HIV." Read more about CWS HIV/AIDS advocacy work.
Since the early 1980s, some 25 million people worldwide--most in the developing world-have died from HIV/AIDS. Currently, some 39.5 million people are infected with the HIV virus. The majority of them are young and middle-aged adults--the backbone of their nations' economies and the chief caregivers for children and the elderly.
Under the banner "Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise," Friday's event in the nation's capital was just one of a series of similar celebrations held in cities throughout the world. The objective of these global gatherings was to focus attention on HIV/AIDS and to spur individuals, the faith community, agencies and governments to action.
Pointing out the close connection between the spread of AIDS and violence against women, McCullough urged participants to join with others in the worldwide 16 Days Campaign for the elimination of all forms of violence against women.
"It is critical that we understand how gender based violence contributes to the spread of HIV and why it is so important that we eradicate that violence if we are to have any hope of eradicating HIV in areas of the world where AIDS is wreaking havoc," McCullough said.
One of the most persistent forms of violence against women is poverty, which opens wide the door for other forms of violence against women and girls-including sexual exploitation and rape.
Seventy percent of those who suffer from hunger worldwide are women and girls. Sixty to 80 percent of farmers in the developing world are women, yet they own only a small fraction of the world's farmland. Many spend a third of their lifetimes fetching water and firewood.
Women and girls often are responsible for providing water, food and medical care for the rest of the family. To respond to these demands, many of them, throughout the world, end up working in unconscionable conditions. Some have even chosen-or been forced into--prostitution to help support the family.
McCullough said Church World Service gives special priority to their needs by supporting initiatives that emphasize gender awareness, protect the rights of females, and improve their access to resources, education, and decision-making," because they are among the most vulnerable groups in the world and a concerted effort must be made to help assure their full participation in society.
Other speakers at the event included representatives from UN-AIDS, the Center for Women's Global Leadership, the International Community of People Living With HIV/AIDS, World Vision, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center, Lott Carey International and the African Network of Religious Leaders Living With Or Personally Affected by HIV/AIDS.
Church World Service is the relief, development and refugee assistance agency supported by 35 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican denominations.
Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526;
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