Christians join the fight against AIDS in Zambia.

Zambia (MNN)–In seven sub-Saharan countries, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Central African Republic, Lesotho, Mozambique and Malawi, the life expectancy of a child born today is below 40.

That’s mainly due to the AIDS pandemic which is raging out of control. Many of the countries in Africa are facing a coming economic collapse as the disease takes whole adult generations, leaving behind the elderly and the young.

An effort to unify in places like Uganda has led to a falling adult HIV rate. Government leaders in Zambia are looking at their example and calling for outside help from many agencies, including Christian World Outreach.

CWO’s Dean Yoder says, “The government is very anxious for our people to come to their schools. We have classes for guys, classes for girls, and then, of course, for adults as well. Our whole ‘Transformation Series’ is biblically-based.”

CWO has been invited to teach AIDS education in many churches, as well. Yoder explains that the series has seen results, but the scope of the need requires more workers. “We have actually seen a difference in communities after the ‘Transformation Series’ has been taught and the whole attitude toward this has changed. I don’t want to say ‘we’re making a major difference’…this is a long-term problem that will not be solved quickly.”