Gideon Byamugisha

Reverend Canon Gideon B. Byamugisha is an Anglican priest in the Diocese of Kinkiizi, Uganda and a canon of St Paul's Cathedral, Namirembe and Holy Cross Cathedral-Lusaka, as well as the founder of the Africa Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (ANERELA+). In 1992, he became the first religious leader in Africa to declare he was HIV positive. Byamugisha is currently serving as Goodwill Ambassador on HIV and AIDS for Christian AID (UK) for Eastern Africa, Sudan, and the Horn. He also founded the Hope Institute for Transformational Leadership and Development. He has worked as an adviser to World Vision and has traveled internationally to speak about HIV/AIDS, including to a conference at the U.S. White House in December 2002. Byamugisha is the 2009 Winner of the Niwano Peace Foundation Award and Prize.