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Network for HIV-positive clerics launched

    JOHANNESBURG

    An HIV-positive South African priest has co-founded a network to provide "non-judgemental" support for religious leaders living with HIV/AIDS.

    The Rev Jape Heath, who was diagnosed in 2000 with AIDS, said his feelings of "intense loneliness and isolation" had helped to spur the formation of the African Network of Religious Leaders Living with HIV/AIDS.

    The network he has since set up with a Ugandan priest has embraced all faiths because "HIV can be bigger than the church but not bigger than God", Heath said.

    The network now has 500 members in eight African countries, South Africa's Sunday Times reported.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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