PlusNews Examines Efforts to Enlist Faith-Based Organizations in Fight Against HIV/AIDS

PlusNews examines new efforts by UNAIDS to enlist Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. "According to the [WHO], faith-based groups provide between 30 and 70 percent of all healthcare in Africa. UNAIDS' new strategy aims to strengthen the capacity of FBOs to implement HIV prevention, treatment and care, and to help them raise funds," according to the news service (12/8). In a second story, PlusNews examines one such project reaching out to religious leaders in Kenya. "Twaweza -- which has been running since August -- is part of a wider HIV prevention effort in the region that seeks to spread the word about HIV in culturally sensitive ways," according to the news service. "Muslim clerics, for instance, are not expected to preach about condom use, but can speak about aspects of HIV prevention that are in line with Islamic teachings. The programme uses some Islamic texts to encourage the community not to take sexual risks" (12/8).

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