wfn.org | LWF Receives USD 485,000 for HIV/AIDS Action Plan

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Signs Grant Agreement with Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria

GENEVA, Switzerland, January 29 (LWI) - The Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) has signed an agreement with the Global Fund to
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to receive a grant of USD
485,000 to fund its HIV/AIDS action plan. This is the first time
the Global Fund has signed an agreement with a nongovernmental
organization (NGO) since its 2001 founding. LWF projects and
initiatives to fight HIV/AIDS will be supported for the next two
years, with an additional USD 215,000 in the third year subject to
an interim assessment report.

In his statement on the occasion of the signing, LWF General
Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko referred to the launching of the
LWF HIV/AIDS Campaign in May 2002 in Nairobi, Kenya, where church
leaders of twenty-seven African LWF member churches committed
themselves to break the silence on the disease. The outcome of the
Pan-African HIV/AIDS consultation determined the LWF HIV/AIDS
agenda in Africa for the years ahead. Similar processes for the
member churches will be initiated in Asia, Latin America, Eastern
Europe and the Russian Federation, he said.

"We shall do all we can to make a strong contribution to the
global efforts to overcome this pandemic, especially in those
areas where churches, together with other faith communities and
culture-sustaining institutions, need to respond in an effective,
appropriate and timely manner," Noko continued.

The LWF campaign includes its action plan titled "Compassion,
Conversion, Care: Responding as Churches to the HIV/AIDS
Pandemic." The overall purpose of the plan is to motivate,
strengthen and support the LWF member churches. Components of the
plan include the organization of conferences with church leaders,
and employment of an AIDS consultant to organize the conferences
and coordinate follow-up activities. The newly appointed
consultant will operate from the LWF Department for Mission and
Development and work in full unison with the Department for World
Service and Department for Theology and Studies. This will allow
for a new working style that is issue-oriented rather than plainly
interdepartmental. The LWF member churches will develop follow-up
initiatives. The LWF secretariat has developed a rapid response
procedure to financially enable these initiatives. Church leaders,
joined by women and youth involved, will be expected to work with
the national Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM) in their
countries.

The LWF already supports HIV/AIDS-related projects in Africa and
Latin America financed with funds from several other donor
organizations. Professionals and volunteers engaged in these
projects are seeking deeper commitment and support from church
leaders.

Dr Noko said, "Resources have been pledged to overcome this life
threatening illness, but they need to be renewed and increased.
All nations are challenged now to revise and refresh constantly
their methods of addressing this immense threat to their
population. The signing of this Grant Agreement sends an important
message to the international community, declaring mutuality
between us, working together as national and international
organizations towards the eradication of this pandemic."

Executive Director of the Global Fund, Dr. Richard Feachem said,
"It is vitally important that we build bridges between faith-based
organizations and partners in-country in the fight against
HIV/AIDS. The Global Fund process enables this linkage and affirms
it with substantial new resources."

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria is an
independent, public-private partnership working to dramatically
increase funding to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and
rapidly direct these funds to effective prevention and treatment
programs in the countries with the greatest need. The Fund seeks
to accomplish these objectives by facilitating the sharing of
resources and expertise across national boundaries, and between
the private and public sectors.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is LWF's information
service.Unless specifically noted, material presented does not
represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various
units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation
(LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

*	*	*
LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
PO Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
English Editor: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
Tel: (41.22) 791.63.54
Fax: (41.22) 791.66.30
http://www.lutheranworld.org/