Tuesday 30 January 2007
A guide for secular organizations about collaborating with five world religions on HIV and AIDS projects is now available through the Geneva-based Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance. WACC staff person Kristine Greenaway co-authored the resource.
Action Alert
29 January 2007
Guide on religions aims to expand collaboration in HIV and AIDS response A guide to the response of five world religions to HIV and AIDS and
opportunities for collaboration with governments and secular groups is now available.
Scaling up effective partnerships: A guide to working with faith-based organisations in the response to HIV and AIDS provides background information and case studies, dispels myths, and gives practical guidance for United Nations staff, government officials, positive people's networks, non-governmental organizations, foundations, and the private sector who want to collaborate with faith-based organizations on joint projects related to HIV and AIDS.
"The presence of religious groups in virtually every community, the involvement of faith-based organizations in over a quarter of the existing care and treatment projects world-wide on HIV and AIDS, and the fact that seventy percent of the world's population identify themselves as people of faith mean that the more religious beliefs, structures and current responses - or the lack thereof - are understood, the more we can build on strengths and overcome obstacles
for a collaborative response to the pandemic," states Linda Hartke, coordinator of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance based in Geneva.
The need for the guide was highlighted in a number of workshops and studies over the past two years that identified lack of information and misinformation among staff of multilateral organizations, government agencies and embassies, and development partners as major factors inhibiting scaling up existing faith-based projects and developing joint initiatives.
The guide reviews the relevant teachings and structures of five of the major world religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Examples of current responses, potential obstacles, terminology and case studies are intended to give practical advice for initiating or expanding collaboration at local and national levels.
The guide has been produced by Church World Service, Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, Norwegian Church Aid, UNAIDS, and World Conference
of Religions for Peace.
Scaling up effective partnerships: A guide to working with faith-based organisations in the response to HIV and AIDS, written by Steven Lux
and Kristine Greenaway; forward by Sigrun Møgedal, Norwegian HIV/AIDS Ambassador; available in English, French and Spanish, 132 pp.
Copies of the guide are available online at: http://www.e-alliance.ch/hiv_faith_guide.jsp.
For more information, contact:
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance - www.e-alliance.ch ; Sara Speicher: +44 1524 727 651
Church World Service - http://www.churchworldservice.org/ Norwegian Church Aid - http://www.nca.no/
UNAIDS - www.unaids.org
World Conference of Religions for Peace - www.wcrp.org
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The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance is a broad international network of churches and Christian organizations cooperating in advocacy on global trade and HIV and AIDS. The Alliance is based in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information, see http://www.e-alliance.ch/