The UNAIDS report has affirmed faith communities' crucial role in countering stigma, discrimination, and inequality, the World Council of Churches reports.

The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads, was published in Munich on July 22.

Ahead of the International AIDS Conference from 22-26 July at the Messe München in Germany, faith leaders, faith-based organizations, and faith actors gathered for a two-day interfaith pre-conference themed "Sustaining Hope for All – Through 2030 and Beyond."

New data and case studies in the report show that world leaders can still fulfil their promise to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, preventing millions of AIDS-related deaths and new HIV infections and ensuring healthy lives for almost 40 million people living with HIV.

Although there has been much progress, there is also much concern.

Nearly a quarter of people living with HIV – 9.3 million people – are not currently receiving available lifesaving treatment, meaning that a person dies from AIDS-related causes every minute.

New HIV infections are still more than three times higher than the goal.

Speaking virtually at the launch, Archbishop Dr. Thabo Makgoba from the Anglican Church of Southern Africa noted that the HIV response is at a crossroads but that the path to victory is well-marked.

He indicated urgent actions required now.

"Don't cut aid; boost aid!" noting that the response to HIV is a success story that needs to continue.

"Drop the debt!" he continued. Debt is choking the countries of the global South, making it impossible to invest the money required for health and education.

"Share medicines!" Makgoba urged, adding that companies are not moving boldly enough to ensure universal access to needed drugs.

He said apartheid in access to medicines makes it seem that lives in the global South are less valuable.

Finally, Makgoba said: "Reject hate, choose love!" This means addressing laws attacking marginalized communities but also dealing with those who respond to them with "hateful hearts"—including churches.

Resource cuts and rising anti-rights pressure threaten progress. Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS executive director, emphasized the demands on resources by the poli-crisis.

This includes the intersection of health, climate change, and wars and the gap in the HIV budget of $9.6 billion.

Closing this gap means ending HIV as a public health crisis, and not doing so means continued long-term costs of care for those living with HIV.

The global financial infrastructure needs to be addressed urgently, as ballooning and punitive interest rates for less-resourced countries redirected funds required for the health and wellbeing of people in these countries.

Friedel Dausab, a Namibian activist who successfully challenged the anti-homosexuality law in his country, recalled unhelpful experiences where faith actors wanted to "pray the gay away."

FAITH ACTORS

He called on faith actors and the international community to "follow the path of love, to protect everyone's health—we need to protect everyone's rights."

One of the case studies in the report highlights the work of the World Council of Churches (WCC) program for HIV & AIDS, Reproductive Health, and Pandemics under the title "Faith-based groups are tackling HIV-related stigma and discrimination."

The case study describes an interfaith dialogue with young people living with HIV who are fighting stigma and discrimination in Nigeria.

Dr. Manoj Kurian, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on Health and Healing, appreciates the spotlight on WCC's continued commitment to raising the issues related to HIV in the international community and local faith communities.

However, he warns that this is not enough: "This is not the time to lose focus. What we do is not enough – we need to challenge further the injustice of the HIV epidemic, including those that make young people vulnerable."