African United Methodists Mobilize Against Drug Abuse
by Leah R. Hill
August 2, 2006
HARARE, Zimbabwe-When The United Methodist Church's new African Task Force on Substance Abuse and Related Violence (ATF) met here recently, its members demonstrated a spirit of international collaboration and a determination to halt the onslaught of alcohol and drug addiction devastating their continent.
The ATF is a year-old network of United Methodist leaders across Africa, formed in partnership with the denomination's Special Program on Substance Abuse and Related Violence (SPSARV). The program, which has helped the network convene three times since it was created in 2005, is administered by Global Ministries, the church's international missions agency.
Leaders came from 11 of the church's 12 African episcopal areas, regions supervised by bishops. They gathered at the Mandel Training Centre in Harare, May 31 to June 4, with SPSARV staff and four of their bishops: Bishop Eben Kanukayi Nhiwatiwa of Zimbabwe, Bishop Gaspar Domingos of West Angola, Bishop Jose Quipungo of East Angola and retired Bishop Moises Fernandes, formerly of Angola.
ATF members are working with SPSARV to spread information in their beleaguered countries about the causes and consequences of substance abuse, including its exacerbation of the spread of HIV/AIDS. They are also mobilizing churches to help heal the devastation addiction causes and to help at-risk populations, such as youth and low-income families, overcome the powerful allure of alcohol and other drugs.
The 2004 United Methodist General Conference mandated the use of a peer-counseling substance abuse prevention model developed in 1996, with SPSARV support, by the Rev. Joseph Kow Ghunney, now a bishop of the independent Methodist Church of Ghana. The denomination's chief legislative assembly called for African churches to launch the pilot program in at least six regions, including Zimbabwe and Liberia. At the Harare meeting, the task force selected the four other areas including, Sierra Leone, Angola West, Congo Central and South Congo. The Task Force will provide a report at the 2008 General Conference.
ATF members also worked on strengthening the task force's operations, including budgeting and establishing a grant review and stewardship process for funding local ministries. And they finalized their quadrennial plan by refining their mission statement and their goals for 2007 and 2008.
Meeting attendees heard reports on the worsening conditions of substance abuse in Zimbabwe. Host Bishop Nhiwatiwa acknowledged that the efforts of the ATF are invaluable to the global community as it faces the scourge of substance abuse. "The world is there for us to face," he said, "not to run away from."
ATF members shared progress reports on initiatives being implemented in their respective annual (sub-regional) conferences. Highlights included:
- In Liberia a substance abuse committee, meeting twice a month, is planning a series of awareness building workshops, scheduled for 2006-07 in different districts across the country. It will cover topics ranging from "Understanding Substance Abuse" to "Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS."
- In Kenya, one of five countries included in the East Africa Annual Conference, a team of six facilitators has surveyed more than 2,000 youth to assess the extent of substance abuse among their age group. The team targeted schools, especially those located in high-poverty areas. Statistics show that 40 percent of teenagers have been exposed to illegal drugs, and many have become addicted due to insufficient or delayed intervention. In mobilizing to target youth, the East Africa Annual Conference wants to expand its efforts to its other constituent countries: Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Sudan.
- In Zimbabwe leaders have focused on the tendency of substance abuse to lead to HIV/AIDS transmission due to related high-risk behaviors. To foster support and collaboration, church leaders have formed relationships with AIDS organizations, including the Zimbabwe Blood Transfusion Network, the Zimbabwe AIDS Network and Total Control of Epidemic. They have also sponsored workshops and further development of the Peer Counseling Model to improve its effectiveness in their area.
- In the Congo-Zambia Annual Conference, team members have integrated substance abuse awareness education into existing youth programs among their schools, while also training school advisors on substance abuse awareness and prevention tactics.
- West Angola church leaders plan to target not only youth, but also women and children with awareness workshops and other efforts.
- Mozambique church leaders also have researched the extent of substance abuse in their area and sponsored programs to address its connection to the spread of HIV/AIDS. A workshop is being planned for September in the capital city of Maputo to build collaboration with other organizations that have substance abuse programs.
While significant strides were reported, all of the ATF members cited a dire need for additional financial support to assist in the expansion of much-needed programs. The task force will meet again in November in Maputo, Mozambique.
The (Special) Program on Substance Abuse and Related Violence (SPSARV) is a permanent program administered by Global Ministries and supported by apportioned giving to the World Service Fund and second-mile gifts to the General Advance for Christ and His Church. SPSARV's Advance Project number is 982598. To make a donation, visitthe Advance.
