FHI - Religious Leader Training

DECEMBER 2005 � Religious leaders are essential actors in any successful response to HIV/AIDS because of their social legitimacy and durable presence in communities. They help shape social values and norms, a critical contribution to ending stigma and discrimination. They are also well positioned to influence public attitudes and national policies. Building on its work with religious leaders from the Middle East and North African region, FHI/IMPACT, with support from USAID, is now training local Christian and Muslim Leaders to educate their contituencies about HIV/AIDS.

FHI/IMPACT and UNDP organized an Egyptian Religious Leaders Workshop at which 55 Christian and Muslim religious leaders committed to combating HIV/AIDS through their spiritual and supportive roles. The overarching goal of the training workshop was to improve participants' understanding of HIV/AIDS, how it is transmitted, risky behaviors that can lead to HIV infection, modes of prevention and the role of condom use.

The interactive training combined lectures, small group discussions, exercises and brainstorming sessions. During group discussions, Muslims and Christians were separated to identify verses from the Quran and Bible that convey positive messages about healing, helping others and acceptance. During the training, each Sheikh or Priest developed an annual plan of activities to combat HIV/AIDS in their respective districts.

Key documents and toolkits were introduced and shared with the religious leaders, inlcuding:

The Cairo Declaration of Religious Leaders in the Arab States in Response to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic (Download English, Arabic, or French versions)

The 2005 Christian Religious Leaders Toolkit (101 Pages 9.5 MB PDF in Arabic)

The 2005 Muslim Religious Leaders Toolkit (101 Pages 9.5 MB PDF in Arabic)

The Cairo Declaration was signed by more than 80 Arab religious leaders who agreed unanimously to respond throughout the Arab world as part of the ground-breaking Regional Religious Leaders Colloquium held in Cairo during early December 2004. This activity was jointly implemented by UNDP, the League of Arab States, UNAIDS, USAID and FHI/IMPACT. The Religious Leaders toolkits were developed under this activity and include excerpts from the Bible and Quran that convey messages of compassion and tolerance in support of prevention and care activities. These documents can now be used to train other religious leaders on the importance of responding to the AIDS epidemic.

Photo: Muslim and Christian leaders particpate in workshop. (FHI/Egypt.)