wfn.org | CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE FOR HIV/AIDS

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

For immediate release - 26/11/2004

CHURCH-RELATED ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE FOR HIV/AIDS 
RESPONSE

At least 19 faith-based organizations are among the 160 initial signers of 
a new Code of Good Practice for NGOs Responding to HIV/AIDS.

"Faith communities all across the globe are living with HIV and AIDS, and 
are also on the front line of responding with care, support, and education 
for prevention", says Linda Hartke, coordinator of the Ecumenical Advocacy 
Alliance. "We must accept the challenge to carry out this work in ways that 
promote good practices - effective and collaborative services and advocacy 
- in the context of the global response."

The Code of Good Practice was developed through a steering committee of 11 
organizations, including the World Council of Churches (WCC), to ensure 
accountability and quality programming in response to the expanding 
involvement of a diverse number of NGOs in prevention and treatment of HIV 
and AIDS.

Among the faith-based organizations that have signed the code include: 
Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, Bread for the World, 
Christian Aid, Church of Sweden, the Conference of European Churches, 
DanChurchAid, Diakonie Emergency Aid, Difaem - German Institute for Medical 
Mission, Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism, 
Hope for Eastern Europe, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Lutheran 
World Relief, Norwegian Church Aid, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches 
(WARC), the World Alliance of YMCAs, the World Council of Churches (WCC), 
the World Student Christian Federation, the World YWCA.

By signing on to the Code, NGOs publicly signal their endorsement of its 
principles and their commitment to implement the programming principles in 
the Code relevant to their own work.

In reflecting on the need for the Code, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Sam 
Kobia emphasized Jesus' healing ministry as the challenge for churches to 
be healing communities. "Faith communities and organizations do not exist 
in a vacuum", he stated. "Church workers all over the world have a 
responsibility to ensure that our organizations are engaged with civil 
society in key issues such as HIV and AIDS." Endorsing this Code signifies 
WCC's moral commitment to concerted efforts towards the eradication of the 
pandemic," he said.

"The Code of Good Practice is an instrument that will urge and strengthen 
responses of faith-based organizations in developing a vision, a commitment 
and a plan of action that will promote and protect the human rights of 
people living with HIV and AIDS," states Rev. Dr Setri Nyomi, general 
secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. He adds, "It will 
encourage organizations to be equipped with skills for effective 
leadership, upholding the respect, integrity and dignity of all persons, 
including special consideration for women and young people who are most 
vulnerable."

The purpose of the Code is to:

* build wide commitment to principles and practices that underscore 
successful NGO responses to HIV and AIDS;

* assist NGOs to improve the quality and cohesiveness of their work and 
their accountability to partners and beneficiary communities;

* foster greater collaboration among the variety of NGOs now actively 
engaged in responding to the HIV and AIDS pandemic, and

* renew the 'voice' of NGOs responding to HIV and AIDS by committing to a 
shared vision of good practice in our programming and advocacy.

Dr Musimbi Kanyoro, Secretary General of the World YWCA, notes that the 
Code "has a check list that will be useful for us in the work on HIV/AIDS". 
She also emphasized that the code will keep them "connected to other people 
working on the same subject and to check on ourselves whether we are going 
in the right direction".

"Signing the code means we can't just do business as usual," states Dr Bart 
Shaha, Secretary General of the World Alliance of YMCAs. "For us the Code 
is a declaration of what we believe we must do so that our work can have a 
bigger impact," he says. "It's a sign of our joint commitment to 
eradicating the scourge of HIV/AIDS."

Organizations signing the Code encourage other faith-based organizations to 
also consider the principles it contains. "This is an important initiative 
and I hope and trust it will receive broad support," says Dr Kathryn 
Wolford, moderator of the executive committee of ACT International. "Many 
ACT members are already incorporating best practices on HIV/AIDS into our 
humanitarian programs and this helps equip others to do likewise," added 
Dr. Wolford, who also is president of Lutheran World Relief.

"The values underlying the Code, e.g. fighting discrimination and stigma, 
and ensuring access to care, correspond with those expressed in the 
Lutheran World Federation HIV/AIDS Action Plan and Campaign," says LWF 
General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko. "It is our hope that this Code of 
Good Practice will become a benchmark document for quality programming in 
the various spheres of life that determine our courageous and intensified 
responses to the challenges of the AIDS pandemic," he concluded.

Participants in the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance actively participated in 
the consultation process on the Code in draft form, bringing faith-based 
perspectives and experience.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies host 
the Code of Good Practice project. The deadline for signing on to the Code 
was 29 October 2004. When the Project's second phase, to support 
implementation of the Code, commences in 2005, an ongoing mechanism for 
NGOs to sign on to the Code will be provided.

For more information on the Code of Good Practice, including the Code and a 
full list of NGO signatories see:
http://www.ifrc.org/what/health/hivaids/code/

For more information, contact
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance
Sara Speicher
+44 1524 727 651
sspeicher@e-alliance.ch

Action by Churches Together (ACT) International
Callie Long
+41 22 791 6039
callie.long@act-intl.org

Bread for the World
Helmut Hess
+49 711 2159 718/717
h.hess@brot-fuer-die-welt.de

Christian Aid
+44 20 7523 2421 or out of hours + 44 7850 242950
press@christian-aid.org

Church of Sweden
Eva Berglund
+46 18 16 97 94
Eva.E.Berglund@svenskakyrkan.se

Conference of European Churches
Luca Negro
+41 22 791 6485
Luca.Negro@cec-kek.org

DanChurchAid
Elsebeth Gravgaard
+45 3315 2800
eg@dca.dk

Diakonie Emergency Aid
Ulla Felsenstein
+49 711 2159 556
u.felsenstein@diakonie-emergency-aid.org

Difaem - German Institute for Medical Mission
Rainward Bastian
+49 7071 206 511
bastian@difaem.de

Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism
Ranjan Solomon
+852 2602 3669
ranjan@ecotonline.org

Hope for Eastern Europe
Eva Wiesenecker
+49 711 2159 502
e.wiesenecker@diakonie-khk.org

The Lutheran World Federation
Pauline Mumia
+41 22 791 6354
pmu@lutheranworld.org

Lutheran World Relief
Mike Maus
+1 303 422 4280
mmaus@lwr.org

Norwegian Church Aid:
Anne-Marie Helland
+47 22 09 27 44
amh@nco.no

World Alliance of Reformed Churches
John Asling
+41 22 791 6243
jas@warc.ch

World Alliance of YMCAs
Jenny Aris
+41 22 849 51 00
jenny@ymca.int

World Council of Churches
Juan Michel
+41 22 791 6153
media@wcc-coe.org
or Manoj Kurian
mku@wcc-coe.org

World Student Christian Federation
Lawrence Nana Brew
+41 22 798 8952
Lawrence.Brew@wscf.ch

World YWCA
Marie-Claude Julsaint
+41 22 929 6040
m-cl.julsaint@worldywca.org

Issued jointly by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, Action by Churches 
Together (ACT) International, Bread for the World, Christian Aid, Church of 
Sweden, Conference of European Churches, DanChurchAid, Diakonie Emergency 
Aid, Difaem - German Institute for Medical Mission, Ecumenical Coalition on 
Tourism, Hope for Eastern Europe, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), 
Lutheran World Relief, Norwegian Church Aid, World Alliance of Reformed 
Churches (WARC), World Alliance of YMCAs, World Council of Churches (WCC), 
World Student Christian Federation, World YWCA.

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/

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 
media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in more 
than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian 
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works 
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, 
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally 
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by 
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.