Bringing Religious Organizations into the HIV/AIDS Program in

							Building Support Among
 Religious Leaders for
 HIV/AIDS Programs in
        Ethiopia
           POLIC Y
         Dr. Ayele Belachew
  POLICY Project Country Coordinator,
             Ethiopia and
          Ms. Eleni Seyoum
POLICY Project Resident Advisor, Ethiopia
 Church & Ethiopian Society
• Ethiopians are greatly influenced in their daily
  life by their spiritual belief in God and religious
  leaders.
• Religious institutions and leaders provide a
  good medium of communication to an audience
  which is generally respectful and receptive to
  the preachings of such leaders.
• Religious institutions are dispersed throughout
  the country, and thereby have the capacity to
  reach a much larger number of people.
 Objectives
• Increase commitment among
  religious leaders in the battle
  against HIV/AIDS
• Involve religious leaders in
  designing community HIV/AIDS
  awareness programs to help
  reduce the stigma and
  discrimination associated with
  infected persons.
• Use “Frequently Asked Questions”
  in program design.
Religious Leaders
Strategies for Religious Leaders
• Advocacy work at various levels
• Training of leaders in HIV/AIDS issues
• Panel discussions
• Production and distribution of training
  materials
• HIV/AIDS teaching as a part of religious
  preaching
• Frequent formal & informal communication
  with religious leaders
Accomplishments of POLICY
HIV/AIDS Control Programs established or
 strengthened in:
  –   Orthodox Community
  –   Catholic Christian Society
  –   Evangelical Christian Family Churches
  –   Muslim Community

Denominational Anti-HIV/AIDS Task Forces
 established at regional level and a committee
 at the local churches’ level
Accomplishments of POLICY
HIV/AIDS leadership training provided at
 several sites of the Evangelical Church
Counseling assessment results dissemination
 workshop
Facilitated the creation of a “National Inter-
 religious Group Anti-AIDS Network”
Organized HIV/AIDS discussion in the Islamic
 Supreme Council annual leaders’ congress
Accomplishments of POLICY
Conducted an HIV/AIDS Commission
 familiarization workshop for the Evangelical
 Church fellowship denomination leaders
Two operational studies on “HIV/AIDS
 knowledge, attitudes and practices of religious
 leaders” and “Frequently asked questions by
 religious leaders”
 Examples of EECMY activities
• EECMY works all over the country through 15
  working units
• Serves over 3 million active members each week
• Established an HIV/AIDS/STD prevention and
  control program in 1988.
• Produces and distributes IEC material
• Provides training, counselling and social support
  to PLWHAs
• Conducts a rehabilitation program for high-risk
  groups
Inter-religious Group Network


• Representatives of 4 major religious
  organizations attended a workshop to initiate
  an inter-religious group alliance against
  HIV/AIDS.
• Religious communities formed the “Inter-
  religious group HIV/AIDS network” and
  developed HIV/AIDS Networking Guidelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
by Religious Leaders
• Were there specific questions which lead to
  reluctance of religious leaders to get involved?
• Appropriate responses to these questions were
  formulated by AIDS professionals and church
  leaders
• These responses were incorporated in revised
  training and counseling materials.
Frequently Asked Questions
by Religious Leaders
• Is HIV God’s punishment? How can the church
  intervene?
• Why should the church be concerned with
  HIV/AIDS?
• What kind of programs can religious organizations
  conduct?
• How can the institutions network with one another?
• How can we induce people to get tested for HIV?
• How can anti-HIV/AIDS programs be sustained?
Frequently Asked Questions
by Religious Leaders
• Other questions raised included condom
  issues.
• Is mandatory testing before marriage
  appropriate?
• What are the options for AIDS education
  including appropriate sites and target groups?
 Lessons Learned
• Properly attending to the hidden questions that
  religious leaders ask is a crucial step in the
  process of involving them in the front line of
  HIV/AIDS policy discussions and program
  interventions.
• Following the revised training sessions, most of
  the leaders were found to initiate anti-AIDS
  programs at various levels in their institutions.
• They became active supporters of expanded
  HIV/AIDS prevention, counseling, care and
  support activities in their communities.
 Conclusions
• Religious stakeholders should be free to design
  their own specific intervention programs and be
  able to collaborate with other groups with equality
  and mutual respect
• Religious thinking often conflicts with scientific
  thinking, and therefore a step by step discussion
  process is essential
• Government’s secular support of religious
  organizations is critical for their participation in this
  process
                         POLICY

 The POLICY Project is funded by USAID and implemented by
               The Futures Group International
                     in collaboration with
             Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and
The Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA).
                  POL ICY
 The POLICY Project is funded by USAID and implemented by
               The Futures Group International
                     in collaboration with
             Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and
The Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA).