HIV/AIDS (Human Immuno-deficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is the first epidemic of a totally new disease since the fifteenth century. World leaders are calling it “one of the most formidable challenges to human life and dignity.” The international agencies are describing the scale and impact of AIDS as the most devastating of any disease to ever face humanity. Scientists predict that by 2020, AIDS will have caused more deaths than any previous disease outbreak in history, and by the same year, it is estimated that 37 percent of all adult deaths from infectious diseases will be due to AIDS.

"AIDS is a war against humanity". . . putting whole nations at risk. Both in countries that are currently being impacted and in countries to be impacted in the future, AIDS is not only the major health problem, but also the major economic and social problem. In the AIDS-ravaged countries, economies are being crippled, with the potential to lead to the downfall of governments and a breakdown of law and order

AIDS has distorted the demographic structures of African states by claiming the lives of people who are in the prime of their working life, threatening national economies with collapse. The result will be societies which mainly consist of the very young and the very old. At the same time, about half of all new infections occur in young people, aged 15 to 24 years, decimating the next generation. The disease is thus clouding the future of entire nations and threatens to hold back the hopes of an entire continent.  According to a United States National Intelligence Council (NIC) report, the next wave of HIV/AIDS is predicted for 2010 and will affect five nations that compose 40 percent of the world’s population--China, India, Russia, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.

The Solution: A Need for a Biblical Worldview

If the HIV/AIDS pandemic is to be curbed, there must be a paradigm shift in our worldview in order to change behavior. The most important behavioral change facing Africa is in the area of sexual behavior. There is need for a shift to or a development of a Biblical worldview. God is the Creator and Designer of human sexuality. He created sex and sexuality to enable humans to express true intimacy--body, soul and spirit--in the commitment of marriage. Because He loves those whom He created in His image, He desires to both provide for us and protect us. He provides the fullest expression of true intimacy and protects us from the false intimacy of sex for its own selfish satisfaction. If humans understand and abide by these Biblical principles, the AIDS pandemic will be curbed.

The means: Learning the ABCs

The Biblical worldview addresses the values of life that will lead the individual to embrace the ABCs of AIDS prevention: Abstinence, Be faithful, and Character (not condoms), which have been proven successful where implemented in Africa. Of particular note is the indicator for the youth who are abstaining. Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN, says, “The proper strategy has become clear: prevention of new infections, above all by teaching young people how to avoid [HIV/AIDS].”

In order to build on the idea of the ABCs as a means to prevent the AIDS pandemic, the Body of Christ, the Church, needs to focus on the youth and the family. Perhaps the best infrastructure to address the youth is through the schools. In much of Africa, due to its holistic worldview and identity with Christianity, many governments are asking the Christian community through Christian teachers to educate the children and youth in values, and life skills, leading to the implementation of the ABCs.