INSIDE: Working Rethinking Looking

together? values forward to

Mexico 2008

Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

AIDS 2006:

FA IT H
in
ACTION
Postcards presented to pharmaceutical companies advocate for children. (See page 2.)

More than papers and promises?
Clutching canvas bags stuffed with resource
materials, thousands of participants at
the XVI International AIDS Conference
leave Toronto today promising to translate
commitments into action.
Faith-based organizations are already planning
for higher visibility at the XVII International
AIDS Conference in Mexico City in 2008.
A growing presence
Veterans of past AIDS conferences report that
the level and quality of faith-based participation
reached its highest point ever in Toronto.
James Cairns, of the World Conference
of Religions for Peace, says two years of
preparation for the conference in Toronto
have paid off. Weve had better access and
presence in planning structures, community
and leadership committees, he notes.
But others questioned whether faith
communities had a sufficient presence,
given their efforts around the world. Ginwell
Yooma, HIV/AIDS coordinator for Brethren
in Christ Church of Zambia, says the level of
health care provided by churches and other
religious communities in Zambia was not
adequately recognized at the conference.
To be honest, I think I have been
disappointed. I think the voice of the faith-
The cost of
based organizations has been very small,
inaction is
Yooma said. nothing less
Cairns admits that there is still a challenge to than a high
more fairly represent the percentage of what
gets done in response to the AIDS pandemic moral failure.
Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro,
by the faith community.
World YWCA
Vision for inclusive church
For some faith-based participants, the
Issue no. 6
conference itself served as a type of religious
Aug. 18, 2006
space. Standing at the edge of the Global
Village, which featured the work of participants Daily news and views on religious
from around the world, Lisandro Orlov, of the responses to HIV and AIDS
Pastoral Ecumenica VIH-SIDA in Argentina, at the 16th International AIDS
Conference, Toronto, Canada. For
talked about the importance of inclusion. more information and articles visit
www.e-alliance.ch/iac_2006.jsp
I want a church like this conference, he
said. So inclusive. So open.
But there were gaps. Rukia Cornelius,
a volunteer with the South African
organization Positive Muslims, praised how
strategic the faith community had
been in meetings
with pharmaceutical
companies and the
International AIDS
Society. But she
ack nowledged
there was not enough
(continued on page 3)
Churches challenged to prove they can deliver
by Kristine Greenaway
International development agencies
have resources to deliver in the re-
sponse to HIV and AIDS. Church-
based organizations have the worlds
largest delivery network. Why arent
they working better together?
As the International AIDS Conference
entered its final hours, Tearfund,
a Christian relief and development
agency, released a report summarizing
the opportunities and challenges for
international development agencies
when working with church-based
organizations in response to HIV and
AIDS in Africa.
The report, Working together? states,
There is a growing recognition among
international development agencies
that faith-based organizations can play
Religious leaders mobilize to confront pharmaceutical industry
by Claudia Carthaus
Advocacy for universal treatment is at
the heart of stopping the death and de-
struction caused by the AIDS pandem-
ic, say representatives of faith-based
organizations at the International AIDS
Conference.
Activists with the Ecumenical Ad-
vocacy Alliance have made the phar-
maceutical industry the main target
of advocacy efforts aimed at ensuring
universal access to comprehensive and
sustainable AIDS treatment.
Paul Zeitz, executive director of the
Global AIDS Alliance, says, The
pharmaceutical industry continues to
be one of the key barriers to our efforts
to scale up life-saving AIDS medi-
cines.
According to Zeitz, the pharmaceutical
industry has one of the largest lobbying
infrastructures in Washington, D.C.,
with two lobbyists for every member
Page 2
a critical role in the response to HIV
and AIDS. But it also suggests there
are clear challenges that need to be
addressed.
Dr. Peter Okaalet of MAP International
told a packed room there is a mutual
lack of trust between international
development agencies and faith-based
organizations. Agencies think churches
have not provided research findings and
project reports to document what they
are doing. The churches question the
motives of some large agencies, such as
the World Bank, Okaalet says.
Dr. Christoph Benn of the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria, countered that his
organization shares a common
objective with churches: To achieve
of Congress. It is great that the Ecu-
menical Advocacy Alliance is mobiliz-
ing religious leaders to intervene with
the pharmaceutical industry. This is a
moral issue. At this time in history we
shouldnt allow a corporate entity to
prevent drugs from reaching people to
save lives.
If the Pope came out and said that mil-
lions of deaths are not acceptable and
that drug prices should come down, it
would have a major impact, Zeit says.
We need the highest levels of religious
leadership to create a new standard for
the planet.
Responding to reports showing that
400,000 children under the age of 15
die each year from AIDS, the ecumeni-
cal advocacy agenda has identified the
lack of pediatric AIDS drugs and pe-
diatric testing equipment as major ob-
stacles in delivering effective treatment
and care for children living with HIV.
universal access. Emphasizing that
the Global Fund needs churches to
channel resources to communities most
in need, he invited church-related
organizations to submit proposals for
the next round of funding in 2007.
Theological professor and researcher,
Dr. Steve de Gruchy of South Africa
responded that health professionals and
religious leaders must first find com-
mon language to describe their com-
mon objective.
Some church leaders wouldnt know
what you meant by universal access,
he said. And you wouldnt understand
them when they say they are doing what
they do because Jesus tells them to.
One of the biggest barriers to treating
children is there arent products available
that are appropriate for kids lower
level doses, co-formulated products,
meaning multiple drugs in one tablet, or
liquid solutions that make it easier for
kids to take the drugs, Zeit reports.
Its important in our advocacy experi-
ence to pick target companies. If you
get one or two companies to break and
lower their prices for a particular prod-
uct line, that helps build the pressure
for the whole industry to break. So we
mobilize a coalition of religious, stu-
dent and civic groups to target them.
Lobbying efforts are producing results.
Due to generic competition, there has
been a price reduction in some drugs
for adults, Zeitz reports. Now, he says,
advocates are applying the same prin-
ciples of advocacy to get lower prices
for a wider range of drugs, including
pediatric formulations.
Rethinking values that shape morality
by Frank Imhoff
A global response to HIV and AIDS
requires a new look at the values that
shape popular morality. Dr. Musimbi
Kanyoro, general secretary, World
YWCA (Young Womens Christian As-
sociation), Geneva, Switzerland, chal-
lenged an Aug. 17 plenary audience
of the International AIDS Conference
to ask the ethical questions that would
turn judgment and blame to a morality
that places greater value on life.
The imperatives of an ethical human
society demand that we address AIDS
with minds open to new standards of
values, Kanyoro said. Are these not
the defining moments for the ethics
of morality vs. mortality? she asked.
The millions of lives lost cannot be
ignored.
Papers and promises?
(continued from page 1)
representation of the Muslim commu-
nity at the conference. Theyre not
here. I havent felt them or seen them,
she said. Positive Muslims are still
not willing to speak publicly. Unfortu-
nately, they dont feel protected enough
to come out.
Somchit Phomthavong, a Buddhist monk
from Laos attending his first AIDS con-
ference, made presentations about the
Buddhist response to HIV and AIDS. His
goal for the conference in Mexico City is
to expand the Buddhist presence.
If I can participate in the next confer-
ence, I do hope that I will bring more
about our tradition to spread to people
around the world, he said.
Involving youth was a major theme of
the conference. Over 1,000 youth par-
ticipated, twice the number from the
last International AIDS Conference in
Bangkok in 2004.
Can morality override mortality? Can
we let people die because they dont
meet moral standards? Kanyoro said,
Our responses will shape the story of
the future.
The YWCA is the worlds largest volun-
tary membership movement for women
and girls, providing leadership basics
for more than 25 million women and
girls each year in 122 countries. The
World YWCA has prioritized HIV and
AIDS, focusing on leadership in pre-
vention, care and treatment literacy.
Kanyoro said the conference theme,
Time to Deliver, drew attention to the
need to hold politicians to their prom-
ises. She stressed the need to provide
everyone with the skills to lead and the
Yet Daniel Pieper from New York en-
couraged even more youth participa-
tion in 2008. With the fact that 25
percent of all new infections are people
under the age of 25, I think its time for
the church to stand up and take respon-
sibility for that and bring youth to this
conference, he declared.
Looking ahead
Andy Seale, chief of civil society part-
nerships for UNAIDS, noted the Bang-
kok conference in 2004 emphasized
harm reduction, while this conference
put a greater stress on scaling up pre-
vention activities around the world.
Such prevention activities require a
cross-sectoral approach with strong in-
put from civil society and faith-based
groups, he said.
Rick Fee, general secretary of The
Presbyterian Church in Canada,
acknowledged that having the
conference in Toronto has left a
challenge with Canadian churches.
He questions whether they are doing
enough to reach the general public.
skills to hold each other accountable.
Asked by a conference delegate about
the role of spiritual leaders in the re-
sponse to HIV and AIDS, Kanyoro be-
gan by saying that all leaders are spiri-
tual leaders. Many spiritual leaders
are engaged in what began as a very
slow start, she admitted, continuing
that their involvement is crucial.
The barriers separating everyone involved
in the response to HIV and AIDS must
come down, Kanyoro said. Religion, sci-
ence, government and corporations will
have to work together to overcome AIDS.
The cost of inaction is nothing less than
a high moral failure, she said. You and
I cannot afford that.
We must recognize that were not
serving ourselves, were serving the
larger community, he said.
Bernard Kadasia, from the Interna-
tional AIDS Society secretariat, which
organized the conference, lauded faith
groups for meeting under the theme,
Keeping the Promise, saying confer-
ence organizers want to take this up
in Mexico. We have been very good
at showing what we have been doing
and less good about saying what we
should do and making sure it is actu-
ally done.
Linda Hartke, coordinator of the Ecu-
menical Advocacy Alliance, concludes,
If we take anything away from this
conference, its that we need to work
together. We need to find ways to
strengthen our collaboration and that
includes with faith communities.
Page 3
Latin American delegates hope the 2008 conference will help raise awareness of the pandemic in the continent.
Latin Americans look forward to Mexico 2008
by Juan Michel
An increased visibility of Latin America its specific
problems but also the specific approaches developed on the
continent rates high among the expectations for the next
International AIDS Conference voiced by Latin American
delegates in Toronto.
The XVII International AIDS Conference will take place
Aug. 3-8, 2008, in Mexico City. It will be the first time the
conference is held in a Latin American country.
I would like to see in the conference program a greater
participation of people working with HIV and AIDS in
Latin America, says Sonia Covarrubias from Chile. In
our continent there is a richness of experience, approaches
and methodologies to combat the pandemic, as for instance
popular education, which have not been really present
here.
Lisandro Orlov from Argentina agrees. I hope there will
be a strongly increased visibility of Latin America in the
conferences program not only because some of our countries
Honduras, some Caribbean countries have prevalence
rates similar to those in Africa but because the focus of the
conference shouldnt be on the figures of people living with
HIV but on the degree of discrimination.
This is high time for prevention in Latin America, says
David Muoz from Mexico. He hopes the conference will
help raise awareness of the pandemic in the continent,
which the lack of Latin American studies in Toronto shows
is badly needed. Although the scale of the problem doesnt
Ecumenical Advocacy
Alliance
150, route de Ferney
PO Box 2100
1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
+ 41 22 791 6723
+ 41 22 710 2387
info@e-alliance.ch
Printed on recycled paper www.e-alliance.ch
reach African levels, if we take no action now it will worsen
significantly in the coming years, he says.
Miriam Gaspar from El Salvador hopes issues like the impact
that free trade agreements have on people living with HIV
will be more prominent on the agenda. Where free trade
agreements are signed, generic medicines tend to disappear
from the market, she says. She would also like to see more
material available in Spanish a hope shared by all the
Latin American delegates.
Edgar Valdez Carrizo from Bolivia hopes there will be
more focus on innovative developments, especially within
the field of prevention. He would also like to see a greater
commitment from the governments of the region to curb the
spread of the pandemic.
Ester Almeida from Brazil hopes that in Mexico the agenda
will offer more space to discuss issues like spirituality and
sexuality, religion and AIDS, science and faith. She dreams
of these topics moving from the pre-conference level to the
main agenda, opening up the discussion to all delegates.
Faith-based organizations should also be challenged more,
Orlov believes. We need more reflection on the critical,
difficult issues: condoms, sex workers, men who have sex
with men. The question is how we accept as Gods children
those who are so different from us and so far from our
sensibility. We must give up our arrogance and become
vulnerable.
Views expressed in this bulletin are not necessarily those of the
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance.
Produced by the Ecumenical Media Team, media@e-alliance.ch, Mobile: 1.416.825.2256
Photos, stories, audio and video available for free use with attribution at
www.e-alliance.ch/iac_2006.jsp.
The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance is a broad international network of churches and
Christian organizations cooperating in advocacy on global trade and HIV and AIDS.
Photos Melissa Engle/EAA
Interfaith AIDS ribbon logo donated by Andy Marino / Marinodesign LLC