Religions for Peace, in partnership with UNICEF, facilitated the inaugural meeting of the South Asia Inter-religious council (SAIRC) on HIV/AIDS in 2004. Representing the many and diverse religions from the region, these senior religious leaders met to discuss how to mobilize communities in South Asia to confront HIV/AIDS.

Currently, South Asia is home to more than 5.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS and almost one-fourth of them are children and young people under the age of 25. Experts have expressed concern that the pandemic may begin to move into general populations, where young people and women, due to limited access to services and lack of knowledge, are extremely vulnerable to infection.

Over the next year, SAIRC plans to form and strengthen national inter-religious councils around the issue of HIV/AIDS and to review current training programs for religious leaders and educators to ensure adequate information on HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support. In addition, each of the religious leaders committed to mobilizing public opinion to reduce and eliminate HIV/AIDS related stigma and discrimination, and to engage women religious leaders and young people within their communities around the issue of HIV/AIDS.