LEVERAGE THE UNIQUE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF FBOs

1.  Leverage the trust that has developed between FBOs and local communities to build strong, more comprehensive, all inclusive, integrated HIV prevention efforts built not on stigmatization but on unconditional love.

Those efforts should move beyond a focus on individual behavior to include family, congregational, and community-based initiatives.  Further, they should advance theological perspectives grounded in human rights and social justice.  Specific HIV-prevention initiatives should be targeted toward your people with emphasis on adolescent girls and young women.  Interventions that focus on those entering or within marriage or stable relationships remain relevant.  Finally, marginalized, hard-to-reach, key and vulnerable populations should be included in program design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

2.  Develop the capacity for FBOs to advocate for improved healthcare for all citizens and hold governments accountable.

FBOs should be empowered to be the voice of reason advocating for all citizens including marginalized and hard-to-reach populations, thus ensuring that governments build and sustain adequate health facilities, distribute resources equitably, and develop sound long-term strategies for improving health systems—both in faith-based and government sectors.

3.  Maximize the existing organizational infrastructure of faith-based health systems to reach communities impacted by HIV, including vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations, people in steady relationships, key populations, youth, those culturally marginalized, those from remote geographical areas, and people of all genders.

Faith-based health systems provide a significant proportion of the health services in East Africa. Those systems have the capacity to reach both urban and rural communities that can surpass that of other health systems. Religious leaders should be mobilized to provide HIV testing, counseling, and treatment to hard-to-reach populations.  FBOs should provide leadership to develop, administer, and analyze population health surveys that reach all populations.  FBOs, governments, and civil society organizations should work together to make HIV programs sustainable as funding from outside donors shifts.  FBOs should provide services in a non-discriminatory and non-judgmental, client-centered manner.

4. Strengthen the capacities of FBOs to develop proper systems and tools for gathering, sharing, and utilizing data for critical decision making and holistic advocacy at all levels including: key populations, gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS, and sensitive/affirming religious messages.

5.  Strengthen communities’ input and investment into FBO administration and programming.

The work of FBOs can be sustained and strengthened when it aligns with community priorities. Such alignment can be encouraged by soliciting community involvement in program administration through community advisory boards. Additionally, faith-based health systems should build or foster strong community ties in order to put referral mechanisms in place. These mechanisms should lower barriers to accessing service for people coming from the community into the health system and for people going back into the community from the health system. 
FBOs and faith communities should be equipped to implement relevant programs in the community while PEPFAR provides services to build capacity.  Religious leaders should be empowered to remind families about PMTCT programs; advocate for comprehensive HIV services for everyone, including people with physical or developmental disabilities; and address stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings and at the community level

BUILD THE CAPACITY OF FBOs, THEIR EMPLOYEES, AND VOLUNTEERS

7.  Increase FBOs’ capacities to advocate, and to develop and implement effective programs including effective systems for monitoring, evaluation, and learning.

Capacity building should focus on FBOs’ mechanisms to improve the quality and scope of their programs.  These mechanisms should include: providing skills-
building and training; disseminating best practices with support to replicate them; prioritizing evidence-based data utilization to inform policy decisions and program sustainable initiatives; and developing and supporting more robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that tie indicators to service improvement.

8.  Expand FBO networks by bringing in new or previously unaffiliated FBOs and engaging other religious traditions.

Create a genuinely broad task force or interfaith network in areas where the virus is, while maintaining rigorous epidemiological surveillance to monitor for changes in HIV incidence in other areas. Once the network is built, offer capacity building strategies that enhance skills and knowledge for effective advocacy.  Work with these interfaith networks to develop tools that promote accountability, transparency, and increased impact. In these activities both key populations and FBO/religious leaders will take into consideration the perspectives of both parties in hopes of reaching consensus on shared commitments.  This will result in convergence of a common advocacy agenda for greater health.  Expand faith-based outreach that could extend effectiveness of health facility programming at the community level, finding synergies between the medical and the spiritual components.

9.  Hold ineffective FBOs accountable. 


Not all FBOs are effective in their work. Some lack capacity and resources to do the work they aspire to; others use religion to promote stigma and shame rather than care and compassion. Mechanisms should be developed to address these circumstances. The capacity-building recommendations listed above could be offered to FBOs lacking capacity and resources. FBOs that actively use religion to promote stigma and shame should be held accountable by FBOs endeavoring to offer strong HIV prevention, treatment, and support services. 
  Increase the capacity of FBOs to deal with hard-to-reach groups and increase the mutual sensitivity of FBOs and key population communities to extend HIV services to key populations by making faith-based programs more available.  In such efforts, the common goal will be to promote human dignity for all in the context of HIV/AIDS.  Conduct theological audits with a view of analyzing and documenting which theologies are enhancing life and which ones are life-threatening in the context of HIV/AIDS. Develop strategies that enhance opportunities where life-promoting interpretations of religious traditions are carried out.

10.  Offer leadership development initiatives to better equip the next generation of leaders. (no changes recommended)

Leadership development is as important as organizational development. Therefore, it is critical to provide platforms for current leaders to share their knowledge, expertise, and wisdom and to create mechanisms at both individual and organizational levels for mentoring. At the individual level, mentoring would allow emerging leaders to work with well-respected and highly effective senior leaders for an extended period of time. At the organizational level, mentoring would pair established, successful FBOs with new and/or promising FBOs in order for staff to share best practices.

  — Please submit any suggested changes to the wording of the key recommendations by emailing us at interfaithhealth@gmail.com  —

2012 PEPFAR CONSULTATION

A Firm Foundation:  The PEPFAR Consultation on the Role of Faith-based Organizations in Sustaining Community and Country Leadership in the Response to HIV/AIDS