Special to United Methodist Insight | Nov. 28, 2025
Most people cannot observe World AIDS Day on December 1 in formal ceremonies of remembrance. Church services are minimal, and community events have scaled back in recent years as people in the United States mistakenly believe the HIV and AIDS pandemic is over.
But in 2025 individual reflection on the current global crisis is needed more than ever. Drastic cuts in USAID and scaled back services of U.S. government programs like PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) have left the poorest of the poor in the world scrambling to survive.
In 2017 The Upper Room magazine combined with the Center for Health and Hope to publish a devotional booklet called “Prayers for Encouragement: Hope for Persons Living with HIV and AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis, and other Serious Diseases.” Published in 19 languages, over 750,000 copies of the “little red book” were distributed free around the world.
This year for our daily devotions on World AIDS Day let us contemplate the familiar words of Micah 6:8: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Combine this biblical imperative with the challenging words of Stanley Gitari, a well-known Methodist layman long associated with Maua Methodist Hospital in Maua, Kenya. From the frontlines of suffering, Gitari describes the sudden impact of drastic U.S. cuts in international HIV assistance, writing:
“In recent months, the situation for people living with HIV in our communities has become even more fragile. The reduction and restructuring of USAID support has placed thousands of vulnerable patients at serious risk of losing consistent access to lifesaving antiretroviral medications. Clinics that once relied on this funding to maintain adequate drug supplies, retain trained staff, and offer follow-up counselling are now struggling to cope.”
“For many HIV-positive adolescents and adults—especially those in rural and low-income areas—this disruption threatens treatment continuity, increases the likelihood of resistance, and exposes them to opportunistic infections. Caregivers, already overwhelmed, face even greater challenges as essential services such as viral load monitoring, adherence support, and community outreach are reduced or delayed.”
“World AIDS Day reminds us that the fight is far from over. As global funding shifts, our local responsibility grows. It is now more urgent than ever for partners, faith communities, government stakeholders, and friends of good will to step forward and ensure no patient is left behind. Sustained treatment access is not just a medical necessity—it is a matter of dignity, survival, and justice for those most affected by HIV.”
Let each of us complete our devotions for the day, by combining prayer with some type of action. Some options include: writing a letter to a representative in Congress, urging our pastor and bishop to plan an AIDS event within the year, sending a gift to the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund, or moving out of our comfort zones and scheduling a visit to a local AIDS center.
Standing in solidarity with the 40 plus million people in the world living with HIV requires reflection and action. Right now the future appears grim, but as author James Baldwin counseled: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
The Rev. Dr. Don Messer
Photo by David Stucke, Dakotas Conference.
The Rev. Dr. Donald E. Messer serves as executive director of the Center for Health and Hope in Centennial, Colorado, and as a member of the United Methodist Global AIDS Committee. He is president emeritus of UMC-related Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado.