UNFPA’s WORK WITH FBOs
Meeting of Religious Leaders to
Assess Response to HIV & AIDS
29-30 November 2011
Toronto, Canada
Dawn Minott
Technical Specialist
UNFPA Headquarters, HIV/AIDS Branch

The goal…
Population dynamics
Young people including adolescents
Achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health, promote reproductive rights, reduce maternal mortality, and accelerate progress on the ICPD agenda and MDG 5
(A & B)
Women enabled by … to improve the lives of …

Young People
Most at Risk
Populations
Linking HIV &
Sexual
Reproductive
Health
Women and
Girls
Comprehensive
Condom Programming
Strategic
Planning

Assumptions underlying UNFPA’s engagement with FBOs
 FBOs, religious leaders and religious institutions, are important partners in the process of development, particularly when it comes to influencing behaviour, attitudes and perceptions.
 FBOs and religious groups have enormous outreach, both actual and potential, and manage the oldest, most far-reaching and diverse array of social service delivery mechanisms.

SNAPSHOTS OF INTERVENTIONS:
Strategic Partnerships & Alliances
 UNAIDS, EAA & Partners (Global)
• Inter-Faith Prayer Breakfast during High-level Meeting on
AIDS
 Interagency Task Force on Engaging FBOs for the MDGs
(Global)
 Strategic Learning Exchange: Faith, Development &
Partnership course offered by UN Staff College to
Senior UN staff
 World Young Women’s Christian Association (Global)
 International Women’s Summit: “Women Creating A
Safe World”

SNAPSHOTS OF INTERVENTIONS:
Strategic Partnerships & Alliances
 Regional Strategy for Engagement with Faith
Communities as Culture Agents (Latin American region)
 Regional Framework for Partnership with Interfaith
Organizations (African region)
 Regional consultation resulted in framework to scale up support to FBOs for promotion of gender equality and maternal health

SNAPSHOTS OF INTERVENTIONS:
Strategic Partnerships & Alliances
 National Forum of FBOs established (Venezuela, and replicated in Colombia & Mexico)
• Roster of theologians from different religious traditions
• Publication on common priorities between FBOs and
UNFPA
• Common training manual for seminarians on SRH
• Q&A directory addressing stigma and discrimination from a theological perspective

SNAPSHOTS OF INTERVENTIONS:
Strategic Partnerships & Alliances
 Religions for Peace and Latin American Council of
Churches (Latin American region)
• Prevention of GBV
• Support Interfaith Committee on HIV Prevention,
Treatment & Care
• Addressing stigma and discrimination
• Promoting MDG 5 (reducing maternal mortality)

SNAPSHOTS OF INTERVENTIONS:
Strategic Partnerships & Alliances
 Women Faith & Development Alliance (Asia-Pacific region)
• Enhancement of women’s status – addressing poverty and gender equality
 Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal
Mortality Reduction in Africa (Africa region)
 Promote and advocate for intensified implementation of Maputo Plan of Action for Reduction of Maternal
Mortality in Africa

SNAPSHOTS OF INTERVENTIONS:
Strategic Partnerships & Alliances
 Youth-friendly Spaces in community worship places
• Adolescents SRH, gender-based violence (Guyana)
 Faith Network Ecumenical Counseling Center on combating Gender-based Violence (Malawi)
 Supported development of National Plan Against gender-based violence
 Radio debates by clergy addressing the church and gender-based violence

SNAPSHOTS OF INTERVENTIONS:
 Anglican Diocese: Senior clergy as partners in addressing
SRH, gender, GBV and masculinities and to create enabling environment for information and service integration into
Diocese programmes (Guyana)
 INERELA+: Increase organizational capacity to work in defense of the rights of communities most vulnerable to HIV
(Global)
 EAA: Theological Consultation on HIV Prevention (Global)

SNAPSHOTS OF INTERVENTIONS:
 Training
• 200 Islamic scholar missionaries to address RH issues
(Sierra Leone)
• Leaders of religious communities on gender-based violence and to include gender-based violence in marriage counseling (Malawi)
 Training of Trainers for religious leaders to link Islamic precepts with health priorities (Tajikistan)
• Spin-off – specialized institute for State training for religious leaders being promoted

SNAPSHOTS OF INTERVENTIONS:
 HIV prevention activities addressing human rights, stigma and discrimination reduction against people living with HIV and their families (Honduras)
 Study to map FBOs response to violence against women and children (Asia-Pacific region - done by Asia Pacific
Women Faith & Development Alliance)
 Research on gender-based violence and published findings
– “Gender-based Violence from Buddhist Perspectives” (Sri
Lanka)

SNAPSHOTS OF INTERVENTIONS:
Advocacy & Awareness Raising
 EAA: Multi-Faith Pre-conference and Networking Zone
(IAC2010, Vienna)
 Armenian Apostolic Church: “GBV and the Christian
Value System in Armenian Families” session for clergy
• Addressing men’s engagement in anti-GBV movement and the importance of Priests’ work in promoting male involvement
 Religious Affairs Committee: awareness raising of religious leaders on HIV, reproductive health, STIs, gender issues (Tajikistan)

UNFPA’s Collaboration with FBOs
 Direct funding
 Provision of technical support
 Service delivery entry point (particularly in context of HIV)
 Through collaboration with NGOs
 Through collaboration with UNAIDS family