wfn.org | LWF Council Approves 2002 Geneva Coordination Budget at 15.5 Million CHF

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

Financial Situation of Augusta Victoria Hospital, Jerusalem, Has
Improved

GENEVA, 28 July 2001 (LWI) - The Council of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) at its 12-19 June meeting in Chavannes-de-Bogis near
here, approved a 2002 Geneva Coordination Budget for the LWF General
Secretariat in the amount of CHF 15,546,900. This represents an increase
of 3.7 percent against the 2001 budget.

To avoid a deficit, the LWF General Secretary was asked to review the
budget and present it to the LWF Executive Committee for adjustment and
approval. The Council also received the auditor's reports and adopted
the financial statements for 2000 of the LWF General Secretariat, and
Departments for Theology and Studies, Mission and Development, and World
Service.

The Program Committee for Finance and Administration, chaired by LWF
Treasurer, Ms. Inger J. Wremer of the Church of Norway, stressed the
importance of membership contributions to the federation. The committee
showed great appreciation for those churches that had increased their
membership contributions but acknowledged that, in some cases, reaching
the decision to regularly raise membership fees was difficult.

The committee commended the sound level of fund management, monitoring
of expenses and responsible budgeting that had avoided a deficit, and
emphasized that finances must reflect what can be done with the
available funds. In the present context, priority setting should be
considered a major task for the LWF, the committee's report says.

According to the report, LWF administration costs are at 8 percent of
the total cash flow. While expressing its appreciation for staff and
their performance within a modest level of administration costs, the
committee observed that low administration costs could also be at the
price of quality and control. It said that all donor partners should be
encouraged to increase their contribution to administration costs.

Augusta Victoria Hospital Receives USD 3 Million from Norway and Sweden

During the meeting, the Program Committee for Finance and Administration
gave attention particularly to the LWF Department for World Service,
especially to the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives in
Jerusalem. The committee was informed that its situation had improved
under sound leadership and stable financial management.

The LWF this year received donations of USD 2 million from the Norwegian
government and USD 1 million from the Swedish government. The funds were
donated following an agreement, signed 18 December last year, between
the LWF, Stiftelsen Oljeberget, Norway, and the Governments of Norway
and Sweden.

The donations were made in response to the LWF's request of July 1998
for financial assistance to cover the hospital's accumulated deficits
and liabilities. Since the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), reduced its subsidies to
the hospital at the beginning of the 1990s, debts of up to about USD 1
million had accumulated by 1995.

A restructuring, and new construction and renovation work at the
hospital caused a total deficit of just under USD 10 million to
accumulate by the end of 1999. The donations from Norway and Sweden are
to be used to help cover this deficit, and to pay the outstanding debts.

In the agreement, the parties confirm the importance of securing and
preserving the Mount of Olives property against sale due to pressure
from creditors or from parties to the political conflict in the region,
or any other activity that puts the property in danger.

The parties further commit themselves to maintaining a strong
international and ecumenical presence on, and involvement in activities
on the property; and that the property and its uses continue to serve
also the Palestinian community in the region, thereby protecting the
humanitarian and religious rights of the Palestinians.

The Augusta Victoria Hospital provides care principally for refugees
from the Palestinian territories. About 75 percent of patients and the
majority of the hospital staff come from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 133 member
churches in 73 countries representing over 60.5 million of the 64.3
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 the information service of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF). 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 acknowledgement.]

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