Amid global HIV/AIDS crisis, Christians must meet the moment | Opinion

“What will happen to my children when I die? No one will take them when they know that I died of AIDS.” 

In 2002, I was living the suburban American dream. I was the mom with the minivan, three kids, the dog and too many soccer games to go between in Orange County, California. Life was comfortable.

But that comfortable life was forever changed one day when I read a magazine article on AIDS in Africa.

The pictures of skeletal people with captions stating that 17 million people had died and 12 million children had been orphaned left me stunned. I did not know anyone HIV positive, nor did I know any orphans.

A Holy Week call to action for Christians

In 2003, the humanitarian organization World Relief invited me on a trip to Mozambique. There, I met a woman named Flora, who altered the way I saw the world. She was the first to ask the question that was echoed by hundreds of women I talked to afterward: “What will happen to my children when I die?” 

The second woman I met was Joanna, whose name means “God is gracious.” She was days away from dying, homeless, living under a tree, thrown out of two villages because of her disease, and she crawled over on her hands and knees to sit on a piece of plastic to welcome me.

She, a dying woman under a tree, welcomed me.

Where is the good news of the Gospel? Where is the grace of God for Joanna? What does the good news have to say in the face of such suffering?

In watching the World Relief staff member sit in the shade of the tree with this woman, I learned the value of being with, of suffering with, of presence. I saw the beauty of the pastors in the local churches who were ministering there to Joanna and her family.

I saw in those fractured moments the good news, that in the midst of suffering, there the church is called to be.

I came home completely activated, completely alive, determined to call churches in the United States to engagement. I knew that we had a voice, and it needed to be lifted in support of the suffering that I saw.

A voice for prayer, support, advocacy for drug research, for policy changes. Advocacy for making orphans not just better orphans, but making them sons and daughters. This was integrally connected to the church’s God-given mission, and there could be no excuses.

Churches must join forces with the government, businesses

Later, at the invitation of the president of Rwanda, I had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the beauty of the “three-legged stool” in action. Alone, the efforts of the government, the efforts of medical practitioners and businesses, and even the efforts of the church are insufficient to bring about the sea change necessary to tackle a challenge as intractable as AIDS.

However, by working together, the orphanages in Rwanda were emptied, each child who was orphaned by the disease was placed in a home. Across the continent, 25 million lives have been saved through the three-legged stool, and 5.5 million children have been born HIV-free to mothers living with HIV.

Yet the church cannot solve the AIDS crisis by itself. The governments of the world can’t solve it, and not the business community, not the medical community.

It is the cooperation of all sectors that will bring about the end of HIV on earth. When we leverage what each brings to the fight, traction happens, change happens. I have seen through the years the combined efforts of leaders in all these sectors through initiatives like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and The Global Fund result in millions of lives being saved, people living with HIV instead of dying of AIDS. 

That is why I have deep concerns about policies styled as “America First.” It’s absolutely essential that aid partnerships honor the agency of recipient countries, but by unilaterally focusing on our own interests, we risk harming – and have already harmed – the vulnerable people Jesus calls us as Christians to serve.

When we walked away from lifesaving work around the world in 2025, when we eviscerated global programs, people were left to die. 

And they have already died: By one credible estimate, 200,000 children under age 5 died in the past year as a result of abrupt, callous cuts to U.S. global health funding.

Compassion is at the heart of Christianity

I’m left wondering: Where is the church, especially the U.S. church, that so boldly stood alongside our African brothers and sisters two decades ago? 

Jesus did not say “do unto others before they do unto you”; he said, “Do unto others what you want them to do to you.” He also told us that when we visit those in prison, when we feed the hungry, when we give a cup of cold water, we’re doing it to him; and when we don’t, we fail to do it to him.

This is Holy Week, a time when we Christians soberly remember the ultimate sacrifice Jesus paid to redeem the whole world. It’s a time of repentance.

There are more than 2 billion people in the world who call themselves Christians, and it's estimated that more than 10% live in the United States. We have a mission and a calling to be engaged.

The church needs to return to its prophetic role of speaking truth to power, to boldly tell our president and Congress that “America First” is a repudiation of some of the best days in our recent history, days when we believed the godly principles of being blessed to be a blessing.

The principle that when much has been given, so much is required. 

The church’s mandate has not ended. It still has the capacity to bring to fruition a modern-day miracle: eradicating AIDS by 2030. What if we return to our prophetic call? 

Kay Warren is an author, speaker and mental health advocate who founded Hope for Brighter Tomorrows to support families affected by mental illness, and to encourage churches to respond with compassion. She previously cofounded Saddleback Church with her husband, Rick.