Gideon Byamugisha
Encyclopedia
Reverend Canon
Gideon Byamugisha (born 1959) is an Anglican priest in Uganda
with a parish
outside of Kampala
. In 1992, he became the first religious leader in Africa to publicly announce that he was HIV
positive. In 2009, Byamugisha received the 26th annual Niwano Peace Prize
"in recognition of his work to uphold the dignity and human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS".
Byamugisha co-founded the African Network of Religious Leaders Living with and Personally Affected HIV and Aids (ANERELA+) in February 2002, and in 2006 started a shelter for orphans of AIDS victims. He lives with his wife and three HIV negative children.
, near the Ugandan border with Rwanda
, the eldest of fourteen children. He was a history and geography teacher, as well as a deputy headmaster, before beginning his theology
studies in his twenties. He was most interested in the philosophy of religion.
In 1990, Byamugisha's his first wife Kellen gave birth to his daughter, Patience, and both parents had been accepted to study at graduate programs in Britain. These plans changed when Kellen developed chest pains in April 1991, dying a week later. Six months later, Byamugisha learned that his wife had died of AIDS.
Byamugisha does not know where he contracted the virus. He and his wife were not tested before their marriage, and in 1988 he had been in a serious bicycling accident which required injections and a blood transfusion
at a time when medical supplies and blood were not routinely screened for HIV.
Byamugisha claims that he never felt guilty about his status. "The only regret I have is that I lacked information. I have all this education--two degrees, one first class--but I failed a HIV test." However, in 1996 he fell ill and lost 40 pounds because he had no access to antiretroviral drug
s (ARVs). Told that he would only live 6 months without ARVs, the bishop of Kampala used the church network to find two donors (an American and a Singaporean) who began sending him the drugs in 1997.
, Muslim
and Hindu
groups on the continent, to have a religious leader infected or even affected personally was unthinkable.
In 1998, Byamugisha began to feel the need to organize the religious community with personal ties to HIV/AIDS. In 2002, he secured funds to host a meeting of the religious leaders who had come to him privately in the past, and 42 leaders met with him in the Collins Hotel, in Nyanga Hills, some 300 km outside Harare
. Eight of the participants were HIV+, and this group later became the African Network of Religious Leaders Living with and Personally Affected HIV and Aids (ANERELA+), and grew to more than 2000 members in 39 countries by the end of 2006.
and has traveled internationally to speak about HIV/AIDS, including to a conference at the U.S. White House
in December 2002. Byamugisha advocates the view that HIV related issues reveal problems in other areas of society, such as poverty, literacy rates, social inequality, gender relations, trade, and government policy. Fixing these issues, he claims, will have a significant effect on the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Major issues Byamugisha sees in charity organizations include their insistence on policies that match the domestic agendas of donor agencies rather than accept the realities of society in Africa. While the Catholic Church and other religious communities had softened their stance on condom usage and AIDS education in Africa, organizations such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR), the biggest donor in Uganda, continued to insist on education about abstinence or delay of sexual debut for young people, and on fidelity or partner reduction for most adults, two interventions Byamugisha has been critical of as "stigmatizing" to those who cannot or will not abstain or be faithful to one partner. He also criticized PEPFAR's the use of non-generic HIV drugs. In the first year of operation, PEPFAR insisted that only brand-name HIV drugs be used, though they are five times more expensive than the generic brands, and, Byamugisha pointed out, can only be used to treat five times fewer people. Byamugisha blamed the private agendas of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry and the U.S. evangelical Christian lobby for such policies which do not resonate with the realities of Africa.
Byamugisha also collaborated in 2003 with photographer Gideon Mendel on the book A Broken Landscape: HIV & AIDS in Africa.
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
Gideon Byamugisha (born 1959) is an Anglican priest in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
with a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
outside of Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
. In 1992, he became the first religious leader in Africa to publicly announce that he was HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
positive. In 2009, Byamugisha received the 26th annual Niwano Peace Prize
Niwano Peace Prize
Niwano Peace Prize is given to honor and encourage those who are devoting themselves to interreligious cooperation in the cause of peace,and to make their achievements known...
"in recognition of his work to uphold the dignity and human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS".
Byamugisha co-founded the African Network of Religious Leaders Living with and Personally Affected HIV and Aids (ANERELA+) in February 2002, and in 2006 started a shelter for orphans of AIDS victims. He lives with his wife and three HIV negative children.
Early life
Byamugisha is from KigeziKigezi
Kigezi District once covered what are now Kabale District, Kanungu District, Kisoro District and Rukungiri District, in southwest Uganda. Its terraced fields are what gives this part of Uganda its distinctive character. Kigezi was popularly known as the Switzerland of East Africa...
, near the Ugandan border with Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, the eldest of fourteen children. He was a history and geography teacher, as well as a deputy headmaster, before beginning his theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
studies in his twenties. He was most interested in the philosophy of religion.
In 1990, Byamugisha's his first wife Kellen gave birth to his daughter, Patience, and both parents had been accepted to study at graduate programs in Britain. These plans changed when Kellen developed chest pains in April 1991, dying a week later. Six months later, Byamugisha learned that his wife had died of AIDS.
Byamugisha does not know where he contracted the virus. He and his wife were not tested before their marriage, and in 1988 he had been in a serious bicycling accident which required injections and a blood transfusion
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
at a time when medical supplies and blood were not routinely screened for HIV.
Coping with HIV
Although there was a possibility that he would lose his job because of the stigma associated with AIDS, Byamugisha decided to tell the principal of the college he worked at and other staff members about his condition. Although they were supportive of him, they asked him not to tell others. He began telling his students, and then other members of his church. He considers this to have been a risky choice, as community members often worried that this would harm the image of the church.Byamugisha claims that he never felt guilty about his status. "The only regret I have is that I lacked information. I have all this education--two degrees, one first class--but I failed a HIV test." However, in 1996 he fell ill and lost 40 pounds because he had no access to antiretroviral drug
Antiretroviral drug
Antiretroviral drugs are medications for the treatment of infection by retroviruses, primarily HIV. When several such drugs, typically three or four, are taken in combination, the approach is known as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, or HAART...
s (ARVs). Told that he would only live 6 months without ARVs, the bishop of Kampala used the church network to find two donors (an American and a Singaporean) who began sending him the drugs in 1997.
ANERELA+
As he started to travel and speak about his condition, Byamugisha began encountering other religious leaders who were HIV infected, or personally affected by the death and illness of family members, but were not ready to publicly discuss their conditions. At the time, there was much misinformation about AIDS and HIV in Africa, and because of the promises and edicts from ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
and Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
groups on the continent, to have a religious leader infected or even affected personally was unthinkable.
In 1998, Byamugisha began to feel the need to organize the religious community with personal ties to HIV/AIDS. In 2002, he secured funds to host a meeting of the religious leaders who had come to him privately in the past, and 42 leaders met with him in the Collins Hotel, in Nyanga Hills, some 300 km outside Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
. Eight of the participants were HIV+, and this group later became the African Network of Religious Leaders Living with and Personally Affected HIV and Aids (ANERELA+), and grew to more than 2000 members in 39 countries by the end of 2006.
Other HIV/AIDS advocacy
Byamugisha has become prominent in the international HIV/AIDS community. He has worked as an advisor to World VisionWorld Vision
World Vision, founded in the USA in 1950, is an evangelical relief and development organization whose stated goal is "to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of...
and has traveled internationally to speak about HIV/AIDS, including to a conference at the U.S. White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
in December 2002. Byamugisha advocates the view that HIV related issues reveal problems in other areas of society, such as poverty, literacy rates, social inequality, gender relations, trade, and government policy. Fixing these issues, he claims, will have a significant effect on the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Major issues Byamugisha sees in charity organizations include their insistence on policies that match the domestic agendas of donor agencies rather than accept the realities of society in Africa. While the Catholic Church and other religious communities had softened their stance on condom usage and AIDS education in Africa, organizations such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief
The President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief was a commitment of $15 billion over five years from United States President George W. Bush to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic...
(PEPFAR), the biggest donor in Uganda, continued to insist on education about abstinence or delay of sexual debut for young people, and on fidelity or partner reduction for most adults, two interventions Byamugisha has been critical of as "stigmatizing" to those who cannot or will not abstain or be faithful to one partner. He also criticized PEPFAR's the use of non-generic HIV drugs. In the first year of operation, PEPFAR insisted that only brand-name HIV drugs be used, though they are five times more expensive than the generic brands, and, Byamugisha pointed out, can only be used to treat five times fewer people. Byamugisha blamed the private agendas of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry and the U.S. evangelical Christian lobby for such policies which do not resonate with the realities of Africa.
Byamugisha also collaborated in 2003 with photographer Gideon Mendel on the book A Broken Landscape: HIV & AIDS in Africa.
Family
Byamugisha lives with his HIV positive wife Pamela (who runs a hardware store), with one HIV negative daughter from his previous marriage, Patience, and two HIV negative daughters, Love and Gift, whom he had with Pamela. The couple decided to have Love and Gift after drugs to prevent transmission of the virus from mother to child became available in 2000.See also
- 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa28 (book)28: Stories of AIDS in Africa is a 2007 nonfiction book by Canadian author Stephanie Nolen, Africa correspondent for The Globe and Mail....
- A book containing Byamugisha's story - HIV/AIDS in UgandaHIV/AIDS in UgandaThe very high rate of HIV infection experienced in Uganda during the 80's and early 90's created an urgent need for people to know their HIV status. The only option available to them was offered by the National Blood Transfusion Service, which carries out routine HIV tests on all the blood that is...