The roles of churches in HIV prevention among youth at Nqutu in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a crisis of massive economic, social, spiritual, as well as political magnitudes. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) revealed that in 2018, there were 37.9 million individuals across the globe who lived with HIV and/or AIDS. The religion is an essential tool used by the pastors to help people living with HIV to come to terms with the illness. Therefore, it is imperative that religious leaders should be actively involved in the prevention of HIV epidemic among the youth. OBJECTIVES: The study objective was to explore and describe the roles of churches in HIV prevention among youth at Nqutu in KwaZulu-Natal. METHOD: A qualitative descriptive phenomenology design was employed. Data were collected from 18 to 35 years old participants who were purposefully sampled. Unstructured interviews were conducted to collect data, which was determined by saturation and analysed using Colaizzi’s method of data analysis. RESULTS: The study revealed five major themes, which consisted of churches’ contribution to HIV prevention; health awareness; churches’ involvement in sexual education; churches’ partnership with stakeholders, human and financial resources. It became evident that churches’ contribution to HIV and/or AIDS prevention is beneficial to the youth. CONCLUSION: The study’s findings revealed that churches play a significant role in HIV prevention among youths. Programmes available in churches play an important role among the youth in curbing the HIV epidemic. CONTRIBUTION: The Department of Health should consider collaborating with church leaders to promote and prevent HIV and/or AIDS among youth.