Africa is the most affected of all continents when it comes to the chronic immune disease AIDS.

The Catholic Church plays a key role in improving living conditions with its many projects and social aid institutions. In contrast with many other programs it embraces a universal perspective that construes the affected human beings not only as in need of medical care but also appreciates their social, cultural and religious situation.

Starting summer 2010 the IWM carries out a research project in cooperation with the Institute of Medical Care in Wurzburg and missio-Aachen that surveys the work of the Catholic Church in Africa relating to AIDS and HIV. This project is funded and commissioned by the research committee “Weltkirche” and the German Bishops’ Conference.

In cooperation with doctors, theologists and moral philosophers the actions of the Church are observed and analyzed in the exemplary instances of Adigrat, Ethiopia and the border territory of southern Malawi and Sambia.

We ask: what exactly is the contribution of the Church and its facilities to sustained solutions (prevention, therapy, steady supplies) and how do they regard specific epidemiological factors?

After establishing the positive and the wanting suits of the Church’s conduct in the projects we will ascertain what kind of support will most benefit the Church institutions in their role as faith-based facilities. Our goal is improving the training of the staff for pastoral care and help them find an appropriate response to the hardships of the peers entrusted to them. Also we want to optimize the social aid and political work where applicable.

Gregor Buß and Albert-Peter Rethman are in charge of this project.