[Lambeth Palace press release] Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has given his strong support to the work of community-based responses to the global AIDS epidemic.

In a video message released in advance of this year’s High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS (June 8-10), Welby celebrates the great progress that has been made to eliminate AIDS as a threatening global disease by 2030, and calls for a “great further step” the mobilization of “political, financial, technical and clinical resources through communities” to make this a reality.

He praises the role of communities, and particularly faith-based communities, in providing treatment for the poor and marginalized. In particular, the archbishop highlights the role the Anglican Communion has played for many years in offering community-based treatment, “enabling communities to…support the victims of AIDS, their families and others affected directly and indirectly.”