HIV and AIDS Policy Stance

The continual spread of HIV/AIDS is an increasing global problem, with over 40 million people worldwide affected by the disease and over four million new infections every year. In addition to devastating the lives of individuals and families it also has a wide reaching impact upon communities and countries.

HIV/AIDS and poverty are intrinsically linked, with people living in poverty more vulnerable to the disease and those living with the disease more vulnerable to ever deepening poverty. The disease can affect every aspect of a person’s life from their ability to access education to their ability to earn a living.

Those things linked to poverty and powerlessness such as forced migration, exploitation, dangerous job roles and seasonal labour movements, can leave people vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. In addition a lack of access to education and healthcare can leave people without the knowledge of how to protect themselves against the disease and without access to necessary healthcare.

HIV/AIDS is a universal problem and must be recognised as such if it is to be fought effectively. However, often the poorest and most powerless are the most vulnerable from infection. Although prevalence rates in Muslim-majority countries often tends to be relatively low, rates are on the rise with the disease spreading from high risk groups such as injecting drug-users and sex workers to the general population.

There is no one answer to the dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis. It requires several different approaches; grass roots approach, behavioural change, analysis of socio-economic situations, long-term and emergency setting approaches, as well as partnership between relevant parties. Islamic Relief will consider all these points whilst also developing Islamically acceptable and effective programmes as part of our emergency and development work.

Our values
Islamic Relief beliefs that all individuals have a right to find their way out of poverty. HIV does not negate this right. Islamic Relief is dedicated to alleviating the poverty and suffering of the world’s poorest people. As people living in poverty are often the most vulnerable to HIV, and people living with HIV are often forced into deeper poverty, it is integral that we mainstream HIV/AIDS into our work in order to meet our aims.

Islamic Relief is committed to working towards the aims of the Millennium Development Goals. MDG 6 aims to ‘combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other disease.’ Therefore, as part of our commitment to these goals it is essential that we become actively involved in the fight against HIV, using our local community knowledge to devise successful programmes and strategies.

As well as developing programmes to prevent vulnerability to HIV and to help those already affected by it, as a Muslim aid agency Islamic Relief also has an important role to play in shattering taboos that surround HIV, as well as engaging religious leaders to make positive change within their own communities.

In Islam, many potentially risky practices such as pre and extra marital sex and substance use are forbidden. However reality shows that these practices exist within Muslim societies. Given this reality and the fact that HIV does exist in Muslim countries, Islamic Relief needs to develop programmes that tackle the realities of different communities in different countries. As an aid agency it is not our role to pass judgement on individuals or communities but to provide them with programmes that halt and reverse the spread of the disease.

Our response
Islamic Relief carries out work in the fields of emergency relief, health, education, water and sanitation, building sustainable livelihoods and care for orphans. In all of these sectors HIV/AIDS is a cross-cutting issue and therefore should and will be mainstreamed into Islamic Relief’s development and emergency work.

In the short term we will focus on how factors such as restricted access to healthcare and education make people vulnerable to HIV, and we will try to address these issues in our project work. In the long term we will aim to create projects that explicitly meet the needs of HIV affected individuals and communities, as well as developing effective HIV-prevention strategies by mainstreaming HIV into our current programme work. For example, HIV testing and counselling could be integrated into our health projects and our education projects could help to fight the taboos surrounding HIV.

In all these projects it is important to note that our work will target those who are living with HIV as well as their family and the wider community. For example, in many instances children are left to fend for themselves when their parents die as a result of AIDS. They need help accessing education and building sustainable livelihoods and the wider community may need assistance in filling the knowledge gap caused by the death of an entire generation.

Many organisations, both Muslim and non-Muslim working in predominantly Muslim communities, are looking to see what policy position Islamic Relief adopts, and arguably even for guidance. Therefore, it is important for us to have a clear stance on various controversial issues related to work in this field and to articulate them to a wider audience. These issues include:

Condoms: This is often the most controversial issue in the discourse on HIV/AIDS and Islam. However, it is not necessarily the most important for an aid agency such as Islamic Relief.

It is apparent that an ‘abstinence only’ approach does not and will not reduce the number of people infected by HIV, as it does not take into consideration people’s socio-economic circumstances. Although the distribution of condoms is not a panacea for the HIV crisis, HIV will not be contained unless condoms are distributed widely.

Although extra and pre-marital sex are forbidden in Islam, many scholars recognise the reality of the world and believe that choosing condoms is the lesser of two evils; the greater evil being infecting one’s partner with HIV. In light of this and Islamic Relief’s imperative as a humanitarian organisation to save and protect lives, Islamic Relief country offices will incorporate condom distribution into their programmes if they feel it will halt the spread of HIV. In areas where condom distribution is not appropriate, Islamic Relief will provide communities with scientifically correct information, including information on preventive methods and referrals to relevant health centres.

Work with sex workers: In many instances the sex industry greatly increases the spread of HIV/AIDS, and is often one of the sections of a community where the disease first appears. Therefore, it is essential that all individuals involved in the sex industry, and those vulnerable to becoming involved, are provided with the means to protect themselves against infection.

However, for in order for such programmes to work, a long-term holistic approach is required. At present Islamic Relief does not have the expertise or resources to undertake this. However, we do have a role in reducing women’s and girls’ vulnerability to becoming involved in the sex industry or to becoming trafficked. This involves providing empowerment tools such as access to education and income generation opportunities.

As well as developing and implementing programmes that aim to reduce people’s vulnerability to HIV and halt the spread of the disease, it is also important for Islamic Relief to use our position to influence other parties and where relevant to educate people about the reality of the pandemic.

Work with Muslim leaders: Muslim leaders often have the ability to be engines of positive change. Therefore, it is important for Islamic Relief where necessary to educate leaders where HIV/AIDS related knowledge gaps exist, and to engage in a meaningful dialogue with them.

Guidance from Islamic scholars: In order to develop an effective and sustainable policy on HIV/AIDS, Islamic Relief is consulting and seeking guidance from Islamic scholars.  

Islamic Relief aims to help develop practical responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic that are effective and Islamically sound following ongoing consultations with Islamic scholars, HIV/AIDS practitioners and people living with or affected by the disease. We aim to build on existing Muslim and interfaith declarations and develop appropriate HIV/AIDS related programmes.