Message from His Lordship Barani Edwardo Hiiboro, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio on the Occasion of International World Aids Day 2020

This is a bare truth that we need to stand courageously to face it and that we need to stand together united and put all our efforts in order to do one of the following: Number one is to pray and to acknowledge that God exists and that He has given us the intellect and the ability to handle difficult situations. Let us pray, we pray for all our brothers and sisters who are affected by this pandemic, we pray for those who are still battling the disease, we pray for health workers who provide support to those who are infected and affected, we pray for those who support the affected, the donors, humanitarian partners, the country and everyone who are concerned about the welfare of people living with HIV and Aids.

And I want also to encourage that we all mobilize by all means to look for ways on how to prevent the spread of HIV and Aids among us. Let us do all we can, let us do everything in our own power to prevent the spread, to protect and to save everyone who may be exposed to this deadly disease.

Another area I would also like to encourage each one of us is to do away with the stigma from among us and make sure that no one is discriminated against just because he or she lives with the disease. Let us do away with the stigma and make sure that we are all affected; we are all children of God and we must hold our heads together to combat this pandemic without discrimination, without segregation but as a human family.

I invite and call upon all my administrators in the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio that in every plan, every activity, every workshop, every seminar, everything that we do, let HIV and Aids programs be a crosscutting issue. Let us never in any way abandon or carry out our programs and activities without adding an element on HIV and Aids. I would like to ask that all the departments make an effort to explain to the people about this disease, about how to live with it, about how to combat it and about how we can make sure that we prevent the spread of HIV and Aids in our communities. I would also like to encourage all the workers and all the people who are concerned about HIV and Aids to work together. All the partners let us put all our efforts together to ensure that there are no duplications but work together in order that we can be able to make this disease something of the past and let us carry the message to our churches, to our places of worship, let us all engage in this together as pastors, as priests as religious leaders and all believers that this is a reality, let us talk about it.

I also invite parents, wherever you are to have a dialogue with the members of the family about the impact, about the disease and how to live with it, and what is more important, let us go for the test. Let us allow ourselves to be tested so that we are able to know our status so that we can know how to live our lives as well as to care for those who may have contracted the virus. I also ask that let us as a community, as people in this area in the Diocese of Tombura-Yambio follow the regulations that have been put in place and above all to help the pregnant mothers to have safe deliveries.

If we can go that way, then not far from now we can be able to win the war against the pandemic and turn HIV and Aids into something of the past, something that is no more a threat to our society. I appeal to everyone to do all we can to support one another especially those living with the disease. At the same time, I appeal to those who are already living with the virus to take care not to spread and to take necessary precautions so as to protect other members of society. Let us do what we can in our capacities to ensure that we contain the spread of the virus wherever we are.

As I conclude, I want all the young people to know that HIV and Aids is a reality we are living within our societies and as I spoke the other day about the positive and creative ways for young people to wait for the right time instead of engaging in activities that risk our lives.

So the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio on the onset, on the arrival of HIV and Aids within our area, we already began the campaigns, we already began the efforts in order to prevent the rapid spread. Surely it has taken over, let us not shy away, let us face it as a reality that is within our community and make sure that we are all determined to take care of all those who are affected and to make sure that we need to prevent it. And in order to do this, we need to work together, avoid all things that can make it spread such as stopping all behaviors that can make people vulnerable.

I thank all the partners, I thank all those who have been doing a great job of fighting the spread of HIV and Aids, those who are involved in awareness creation and those who are taking care of all the people who are already affected. Ignorance about HIV and Aids is more dangerous than the disease itself, may we speak about it, may we talk to each other about it, let us keep the conversation alive become by so doing we will be saving our nation from this pandemic. May the lord bless and strengthen us and may we have hope that together as a family, as a diocese, as a country we will overcome the pandemic. Together as one people and as one nation, let us fight this pandemic.

God bless you.

Barani Edwardo Hiiboro Kussala,

Catholic Bishop of Tombura-Yambio Diocese