press releases
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Programs in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS
August 16, 2005The United States Government has provided Catholic Relief Services
with approximately $13.6 million through the President’s Emergency Plan
for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for implementation of HIV/AIDS programs in
Zambia in 2005. Another $2.3 million has been provided to CRS for the
C-Safe Food Security program. Through the support of the U.S.
Government and strategic relationships with the Government of Zambia
and its Catholic partners, CRS, working with diocesan structures and in
close collaboration with local authorities, is reaching 722,000 of the
most vulnerable people in Zambia with supplemental food rations.
Speaking
at the CRS third Annual Program Summit this morning, William Penoyar,
Supervisory Program Officer and Acting Director of the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) in Zambia, stated, “We are proud to
see the good work being done by faith-based organizations, with funding
provided by President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and by the
U.S. government’s Food for Peace program.”
CRS Zambia Country
Representative Michele Broemmelsiek stated: “We are a faith-based
organization serving persons on the basis of need – not creed, race or
nationality. We are a development organization, indirectly
implementing, through our partners who include the Catholic Church,
faith-based and community-based organizations.”
She said the
CRS operates in this way in order to empower local communities to take
ownership of their programs, thereby being more fully involved in
influencing their future. Ms. Broemmelsiek also expressed appreciation
for the support of the government.
This partnership is
contributing to the reduction of poverty and mitigation of HIV/AIDS,
particularly through increased access to anti-retroviral therapy, and
ultimately assisting Zambia to achieve its Millennium Development
Goals.
More…
CRS programs will help mitigate the impact of
HIV/AIDS by reducing food insecurity; improving the quality of HIV/AIDS
health related services; improving programming for vulnerable children,
orphans and youth; and increasing partners’ participation in HIV/AIDS
policy development.
The following CRS projects have been
funded by the U.S. Government: AIDS Relief Anti-Retroviral Therapy;
SUCCESS Home Based Care and Hospice Care; Orphans and Vulnerable
Children initiatives; RAPIDS Multi-Sectoral AIDS Response; and C-SAFE
Food Security.
For more information about CRS, contact:
Michele Brommelsiek
CRS Zambia Program
Plot 106 & 108 Great East Road
PO Box 38086
Rhodes Park, Lusaka
Tel: (260) 1-224126 / 31 / 35
Fax: (260) 1-224118
