Divine healing not a substitute for ARV’S, cautions MIAA

Malawi Interfaith Aids Association MIAA has asked religious groupings involved in divine healing not to ask people living with HIV/AIDS and are on treatment to stop taking drugs after being prayed for.

Programs Officer for MIAA, Pirira Chiguma, said this during a campaign meeting on people living with HIV/AIDS taking ARV’s and divine healing which took place in Blantyre.

According to Chiguma the workshop was organized after noting that some religious leaders providing divine healing are asking people living with HIV/AIDS to stop taking drugs after praying for them.

Chiguma said only a medical personnel is responsible for telling a person to stop taking drugs after going through medical examinations.

She said religious leaders are the ones to encourage people living with HI/AIDS to take drugs while providing the divine healing.

In his remarks, one of the prophets providing divine healing who is also a retired medical doctor while concurring with Chiguma, Dr Alex Kalolo, said the conflict that exist between medical doctors and religious groupings providing divine healing must stop if zero infection to be achieved in the country.

According to Kalolo the two groups fight for superiority in terms of healing.

He said divine healing go together with taking drugs that is why people should continue taking drugs while seeking for divine healing.

“I think there should be an understanding between the two. Religion should understand medicine and the other way round. If a person has been prayed for let him go back to the hospital and the doctors are the ones to ask him or her to stop taking the drugs and not any other person” Dr Kalolo said.

Kalolo commended MIAA for organizing the function saying that it has acted as an eye opener to all the religious groupings providing divine healing.

He also said that only God provide healing and can choose a way through which a healing can be provided.