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KATHMANDU, NEPAL, DECEMBER 12, 2003: In the Nepalese capital, 29-year-old Surendra Shaha and his mother are sitting in prayers with a Hindu priest. Surendra Shaha says his weekly prayer ritual is helping him. Surendra is HIV positive and this is a weekly ritual organized by his mother to keep his spirits up. By all accounts, it’s working. The role of religion in combating HIV/Aids can be a controversial one. Orthodox thinkers have, in the past, denounced those who fall ill with Aids, suggesting their fate is divine punishment for immoral behavior — but no longer. A conference in Kathmandu recently, bringing together representatives of all of South Asia’s many religious faiths and HIV/Aids activists, has been calling for compassion and tolerance for victims. UNICEF South Asia director Dr. Sadig Rasheed says: “We need religious leaders to help us in every way, to pray for the sick, to comfort those inflicted and to help spread awareness and prevention strategies.” Once, Aids activists despaired at conservative religious attitudes. The organizers of the Kathmandu conference say things have changed. Faiths and HIV/Aids workers are converging, compromising and learning to live with each other’s attitudes and priorities. One of the stars of the conference in Nepal is Buddhist monk Ven Phra Tuangsit from Nong Khai in Thailand. He leads a project called Sangha Metta that many want to see duplicated in other parts of South Asia. Buddhist clerics involved in the project work with young people, sex workers and others to spread awareness of HIV/Aids. In the audience, listening to Tuangsit speak, are mosque imams sitting alongside Catholic priests. With HIV/Aids set to become South Asia’s biggest public health challenge very soon, it’s clear that the men and women who serve God have decided they have a role to play in helping the present and future victims of a dreaded epidemic.

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