Caritas and the UN have signed a working agreement on HIV

Credits: Caritas

In its advocacy with the Specialised Agencies of the United Nations, Caritas enjoys an excellent partnership with UNAIDS.

Perhaps the best evidence of this cooperation can be found in the Memorandum of Understanding between UNAIDS and Caritas Internationalis which was first signed in 1999 and then renewed in 2003.

Areas of joint UNAIDS/Caritas work include promotion of:

  • Education to facilitate HIV and AIDS awareness and responsible behaviour, particularly among young people;
  • Activities to mitigate the social and economic impact of the epidemic;
  • Advocacy in line with the UNGASS (United Nations General Assembly Special Session on AIDS – 2001) Declaration of Commitment;
  • Efforts to eliminate all forms of discrimination and stigmatisation of persons living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.

UNAIDS and Caritas first established a Memorandum of Understanding in 1999 to guide their collaboration on AIDS; this agreement was renewed in 2003 and continues in effect to the present time.

Through their long-standing collaboration, Caritas and UNAIDS have pledged to work together, from their different perspectives, to promote awareness, especially among young people, to prevent new infections, to advocate for the rights of those infected, to promote access to care and treatment, and to eliminate discrimination at all levels of society.

During 2006, Caritas Internationalis worked closely with UNAIDS-Philippines to promote more engagement of the Catholic Church in HIV prevention education and in service to those already living with or affected by HIV.

Particular attention has been given to Church-sponsored education services in the country and to Church programmes that serve overseas foreign workers preparing for departure from or return to the Philippines.

Other examples of working together include the "Choose to Care" Initiative in Southern Africa, the Pastoral Training Manual on HIV and AIDS, in training in India, and in the Ukraine. 

During the course of their collaboration, UNAIDS and Caritas Internationalis have remained committed to respect for the unique missions of each organisation. They have collaborated in areas of mutual concern and shared expertise while recognising areas of difference in particular strategies related to HIV prevention.

Through such collaboration, both UNAIDS and Caritas Internationalis have fulfilled their respective and vital roles in contributing to the commitment made by the world’s leaders at the UN Special Session of HIV and AIDS, held in June 2005, to promote Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Care, Support and Treatment to all in need.

In January 2006, with assistance from the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, and International Labour Organization, Caritas and the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, held a meeting of representatives of major Catholic organisations engaged in the HIV response.

The objectives of the meeting included learning about opportunities for funding and capacity-building, and strategic planning on how best to promote and coordinate “scale up” and replication of Catholic Church-sponsored HIV education, care, support, and treatment programmes.

In his words of welcome, Archbishop Tomasi said that the meeting represented the type of initiative that the Pope encourages but also reflected the sense of urgency that we feel for a “scaled up” response, and gave evidence within our faith community of a growing awareness that intensified collaboration, communication, outreach and professional capacity are becoming indispensable tools for an efficient response.

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