Signs of Hope - World AIDS Day

“Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?”

These questions were posed by the Prophet Jeremiah in the 7th century B.C.E. in light of the experience of the Israelites who found themselves in exile and pain in the city of Babylon. The region of Gilead was known for producing a healing balm. This balm was known for its medicinal powers. When people were hurting, they would seek out the balm in Gilead, for it was like no other in its ability to facilitate healing. The balm in Gilead was considered to be a miracle cure, and if it couldn’t heal one’s wounds, there was perhaps nothing that would.

The pain of the people in the city of that day leads us to reflect upon those who suffer in our cities today. Nationwide, 45 million people are believed to be living without health insurance. In Baltimore it is estimated that one out of every four persons does not have health insurance. Nearly 10,000 of those are children.

Robert Franklin, the president of Morehouse College in Atlanta, in his most recent book points to what he refers to as Crisis in the Village. For Franklin, the challenges facing many communities today are contradictory to the very nature of the foundations upon which communities have historically been shaped. Franklin, himself a product of the South-side of Chicago near the Robert Taylor Homes, which before its demolition was the largest public housing project in the world, points out that much of the crisis in the proverbial village today is evident in the lives of those who suffer.

Monday, December 1, 2008 marks the 21st World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day was established by the World Health Organization in 1988 to raise awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is estimated that more than 25 million people have died from AIDS, with more than 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS today.

In Baltimore, there has been an increase in the prevalent cases of HIV and AIDS in every year since 1986, with over 16,000 reported cases at the end of 2007. Some hope may be found in the fact that deaths of persons with AIDS has continued to decrease – from over 200 in 1996 to less than 100 reported deaths in 2007.

The ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic points to the critical need for expanded access to healthcare, particularly in our cities. In 2004, the Global AIDS Fund was established by the United Methodist Church to provide education, advocacy, and funding support for ministries working toward an AIDS-free world. Establishing constructive approaches to improving the health of persons across the globe – particularly among the poor - has been adopted as one of the priorities of the United Methodist Church for the next several years. Signs of hope can be found in those urban churches and institutions that seek to provide education, advocacy, and resources for those among us that continue to suffer daily.