Shhh

In this day and age there still seem to be so many taboos - sex, death, money. But I'm one of those people who is unafraid to take things head on, it can get me into trouble but I can't help it! So here's one for you - HIV.

Poverty will never be history unless we fight the underlying causes of HIV. A lack of education in schools, public clinics and hospitals; the increasing need to migrate in order to find work; the desperation that drives women and girls to work; and the lack of access to lifesaving treatment all point to the same conclusion: HIV is fuelled by, and is fuelling, the vicious cycle of poverty.

HIV is a virus, not a moral issue.

The response to HIV must therefore be based on public health measures and human rights principles, and not on judgements about what we perceive to be right or wrong.

Christian Aid supports partner organisations in developing countries working to provide treatment to the people who need it. They provide support groups and education, meeting the needs of people at every level. Globally we are calling for an end to stigma afflicted on those diagnosed as HIV-positive. We are asking for the church to step up and courageously take action alongside the world's poor as well as those people in the UK and around the world living with HIV.

HIV may not be at the top of many UK churches' agendas but raising the issue helps those infected to escape their isolation, it increases education which promotes prevention, and it makes us look outward to one of the most vicious epidemics crippling the world's poorest communities.

I may be a taboo, but this world needs those people bold enough to speak out, stand up and stand alongside those who deserve it.