The most alarming estimates on AIDS in Africa suggest that up to one-third of the population on that continent will be dead from the disease within 10 years.

Until recently the Anglican provinces of Sub-Sahara Africa have denied this reality, according to the Most Rev. Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Nigeria.

At a conference on HIV/AIDS, held Aug. 13-16 in Boksburg, South Africa, that silence was broken and a first step is now in place for the Anglican Communion to address a human catastrophe, said the Archbishop of Southern Africa, the Most Rev. Njongonkulu Ndungane, at a press conference for diplomats and media following the conference.

Conference participants pledged themselves to work toward a world free of the disease. They hoped that Anglican primates of Africa would endorse the report during a meeting which followed the conference.

Three representatives from each province of Sub-Saharan Africa were invited as well as people with AIDS from each province and representatives of various interest groups.

Archbishop Ndungane called upon all African countries to declare an HIV/AIDS state of emergency and to intensify regional and international efforts to stop the spread of the disease. The International Monetary Fund and developed world countries could help, he suggested, by canceling debt owed by African countries and in the future awarding grants instead of loans to help fight the disease.

"We are not afraid of talking about the frailty of humanity and the need for prevention and education," Archbishop Ndungane said. "Our vocation as Anglican Christians is to save souls, yes, but also we must save lives."

Previously the Anglican provinces of Africa had struggled over whether condoning the use of condoms to help prevent the disease also encouraged sexual immorality. This preventive measure was condemned by Africa's Roman Catholic bishops last month.

The Anglican provinces of Africa will continue to call for people either to abstain from sex or remain faithful in wedlock. For those who are unable to be faithful in marriage or otherwise abstinent, the use of condoms represents the lesser of two evils.

Development of an action plan to halt the spread of AIDS was part of a series of initiatives agreed to by the primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion last March.