Contact: World Council of Churches, +41-22-791-6153, +41-79-507-6363, media@wcc-coe.org

MEDIA ADVISORY, July 29 /Standard Newswire/ -- Can religions do more in response to the AIDS pandemic? To address this question over 450 representatives of faith-based organizations currently responding to HIV and AIDS will gather in Mexico City, 31 July - 2 August, in advance of the XVII International AIDS Conference.

"Solutions to the global crisis of HIV and AIDS are not possible without the active engagement of faith communities", says Dr Manoj Kurian, programme executive for health and healing at the World Council of Churches (WCC). "Although churches and other faith communities around the world are providing critical input to overcome the pandemic, much more action is called for from us - action that upholds the teachings and values that guide us", he adds.

Leading church, civil society, and government speakers will address the Ecumenical Pre-Conference including:

Dutch AIDS Ambassador Paul Bekker
Rev. Mark Hanson, presiding bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Msgr. Gustavo Rodriguez, president, National Social Commission in Mexico of the Catholic Church
Mr Emilio Alvarez Icaza Longoria, president, Commission on Human Rights of Mexico City
Ms Kay Warren, executive director, Saddleback Church's HIV/AIDS Initiative (USA)
Dr Jacob Gayle, deputy vice president, Ford Foundation
Rev. Patricia Sawo, regional coordinator (East Africa), African Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (ANERELA+)
Dr Purnima Mane, deputy executive director, United Nations Population Fund
Ms Beatríz Rebeca Jarero, director, Meson de la Misericordia Divina (Mexico)

"Faith groups have taken a leadership role in many areas in the response to AIDS," states Linda Hartke, coordinator of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, which has led the planning for the Ecumenical Pre-Conference. "We hope that everyone participating here will be inspired, re-energized, and challenged to expand and strengthen our efforts."

Plenary sessions over the three days focus on key obstacles and opportunities to reaching the goal of universal access to prevention, care and treatment. They include leadership, prevention, violence, vulnerability of children and stigma and discrimination.

"I expect the Ecumenical Pre-Conference to be an opportunity to hear from those within the faith communities who are striving to make a difference", says Rev. Dr Nyambura Njoroge, project coordinator of the WCC Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA). "I hope religious leaders and decision makers around the world will listen to a crescendo of prophetic voices - voices from the eye of the storm called HIV and AIDS", she adds.

The 3-8 August XVII International AIDS Confere nce, probably the largest conference on a single health issue to date, is the first to be held in Latin America. Known as AIDS 2008, the conference will bring some 25,000 participants from the academic, scientific and medical communities, as well as from business, government, faith and civil society organizations together with HIV positive people's networks. Over 33 million people worldwide are living with HIV. The AIDS 2008 conference theme is "Universal Action Now".

Churches and church-related organizations in Mexico have formed a Christian Host Committee to support and facilitate the faith-based presence at AIDS 2008. The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance provides overall coordination and support for faith-based participation through its secretariat and several international planning committees.

Media contact in Mexico
Sara Speicher +521 55 5075 2752 sspeicher@e-alliance.ch

Schedule and speakers list for the Ecumenical Pre-Conference in PDF format can be downloaded here.

Media are welcome to attend the Ecumenical Pre-Conference. Press should bring appropriate credentials, and inform the above-mentioned media contact in advance of attendance.

Extensive coverage, including photos, news, features, video and audio of faith-based participation at the International AIDS Conference will be available beginning 31 July at
http://iac.e-alliance.ch
 

All materials can be reprinted free of charge provided credit is given to the source.

Sign up to receive a daily digest of the latest news and features, video and photos, as well as other media products by sending an email with the subject "subscribe IAC" to
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Webcasts of all Ecumenical Pre-Conference plenary sessions will be made available by Kaiser Network at: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/healthcast/ecumenical/31jul08

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance is a broad international network of churches and Christian organizations cooperating in advocacy on global trade and HIV and AIDS. The Alliance is based in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information, see http://www.e-alliance.ch

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.