Posted on December 1, 2008 - by Stephen Murray

World Aids Day

Life in South Africa has been lived somewhat under the shadow of HIV/AIDS for over a decade now. Conservative statistics put us as having 5.5 million people infected with the virus, which is about 16% of the amount of people infected world-wide. As a result of the pandemic we sit with an ever rising number of orphans, currently at about 1.4 million. And so today my blog post is a call to prayer. Won’t you stop for a second and direct some pray towards the following issues:

• The rate at which the virus is spreading: Pray that God will intervene here.
• The availability of medication: Less than a quarter of those infected in South Africa have adequate access to the right medication.
• Child-headed homes: As more and more parents succumb to the virus, more and more children are having to take over headship of households looking after even younger children
• Abstinence as a solution: Pray that people we see abstinence amongst the un-married as real solution and not something to be scoffed at.
• Faithfulness as a solution: Pray that married couples would be faithful to one another throughout their marriage.
• Discrimination: Pray against the terrible discrimination that some face after being diagnosed with the virus.
• The orphan crisis: Pray that God would raise up emergency parents, foster parents and even parents willing to adopt.
• Pray for our churches: Pray that the redemption they have received in Christ will flow out into acts of love and kindness towards those infected.

Pray for South Africa on World Aids Day. For more information about how to help with the orphan crisis here in Cape Town check out Arise: A ministry to vulnerable children.