Bill O’Keefe, Senior Director of the CRS Advocacy Department, recently returned from Zambia and had this reflection:

Having visited many rural African Catholic health clinics over the last 20 years, I was amazed at how the advent of antiretroviral therapy has brought hope and healing to persons with HIV in Zambia. Where health workers for years were focused on helping people die, they are now in the business of bringing people back to life.

CRS-supported Chreso Ministries Clinic, a Lusaka, Zambia-based program that provides key services to more than 5,700 people living with HIV and AIDS. Photo by Hilary Roxe/CRS.

I am thankful to have just returned from visiting CRS’ PEPFAR-supported projects in Zambia. The experience brought home to me that the work that all of us with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have done to advocate for HIV funding over the years is truly making a huge difference.

In Washington, D.C., staff from the foreign affairs committees are focusing on the reauthorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Just last week, CRS had the opportunity to testify in Congress on the critical connection between nutrition and HIV. Having witnessed this connection in Zambia, the hearing could not have been more timely. We are trying to help shape the next five years of PEPFAR so that it is even more effective. We are going to need your help, though, from now until a final bill passes, probably in the spring of 2008.

We face opposition or inertia on a number of fronts. The role of the Church in providing health care in remote parts of Africa is itself underappreciated. While our experience and evidence support the important contribution abstinence and behavior change play in preventing the spread of HIV, others have a very different view. The ease with which CRS and others are able to piece together an integrated program that fights HIV, while addressing nutrition, education, sanitation and other related issues, will be a challenge.

Thanks for supporting our past efforts on HIV and AIDS and other important issues. I invite you to continue with us in our HIV advocacy over the next few months. Here are specific ways you can help:

• Keep an eye out for CRS’ HIV and AIDS related educational resources and action alerts and respond as intensively as you can. If you are not already a part of our legislative network, you can join by visiting our website.
• Also check our speaker tour page for news about events in your area. One of the speakers during our upcoming fall HIV and AIDS tour is Ms. Bridget Chisenga, a Zambian woman who will share her own story and describe her work on HIV and AIDS in Zambia.
• World AIDS Day is observed around the world on December 1. Plan to get involved and spread the word about 2007 World AIDS Day events. Visit CRS’ website in the coming weeks for more information and to download educational and worship resources.
• Visit our website to learn more about CRS’ HIV and AIDS, food security, and peacebuilding programs in Zambia.
• Finally, talk to your parish, your family, and your friends about how they can join this effort as well.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 10:51 am and is filed under Africa, HIV and AIDS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.