Lutheran body gets large AIDS grant

Christian Century, Feb 22, 2003

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has for the first time allocated a grant to a nongovernmental organization by presenting $485,000 to the Lutheran World Federation for its HIV/AIDS action plan.

Previous grants of the Global Fund, an independent, public-private partnership established in 2002, have gone directly to countries. "It's vitally important that we build bridges between faith-based organizations and partners in-country in the fight against HIV/AIDS," said Richard Feachem, executive director of the Global Fund.

At a signing ceremony in Geneva January 27, LWF General Secretary Ishmael Noko said, "The signing of this grant agreement sends an important message to the international community, declaring mutuality between us." The grant will support LWF initiatives to fight HIV/AIDS for the next two years, with an additional $215 000 allocated for a third year.

Noko was referring to the launching in May 2002 of the LWF HIV/AIDS Campaign in Nairobi, Kenya, where leaders of 27 African member churches committed themselves to breaking the silence surrounding the disease.--ENI