HIV & AIDS-A Deep Human Concern

of Irish Aid, Sister Miriam Duggan and her
tireless work in Uganda 2 , Mary Donohoe of
the Rose Project 3 , my own namesake and fellow
Jesuit Michael D. Kelly, who established
Kara Counselling 4 here in Lusaka, Sister Kay
O’Neill who runs Our Lady’s Hospice 5 , also
here in Lusaka, and James O’Connor of the
Open Heart House in Dublin 6 .
I think also of the thousands I have known
and admired, people who experienced utterly
dehumanising sufferings, but who rarely
complained, and never lost hope. I trust that
the association of my name with this annu-
al lecture will be seen as symbolic with me
as it were standing in for and representing
the great body of wonderful Irish people who
have spent themselves in addressing HIV and
AIDS and their appalling impacts, as well as
the great body of heroic people who have
endured the worst ravages of the epidemic.
I conclude by saluting all of these for their
great resilience, their unquenchable hope,
and above all, their unsurpassed human dignity.
I welcome you again, and I thank you. I
hope you will enjoy the lecture, and may God
bless all of you”.
2 Sister Dr. Miriam Duggan is an Irish Obstetrician who was the Founder of Youth Alive, and in 2015 was awarded the
Presidential Award for Distinguished Service for the Irish Overseas
3 An NGO founded by Mary Donohoe, which aimed to fund programmes addressing maternal and child healthcare in
Malawi.
4 The Kara Counselling and Training Trust, founded in 1989, pioneered in the field of Voluntary Counselling and
Testing (VCT) in Zambia, running VCT centres in Lusaka, and providing other activities.
5 Hospice in Lusaka which provides care for those living with HIV, including volunteers who visit patients in surrounding
communities to support medication adherence and general health.
6 Open Heart House was a member-led organisation in Dublin which aimed to support and empower people living with
HIV to lead full and productive lives.
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