PSI and FBOs: A Match Made in Heaven

There is a new appreciation for the role faith-based organizations can play in global health, particularly in HIV/AIDS. But some people are surprised to learn that PSI, known more for condom promotion, has long embraced this concept. Some doubt that PSI actually collaborates with FBOs at all; others know we do it but doubt our sincerity or think we are following the political trends. Not only do we do it, we have done it for at least 12 years. PSI does it not because it is fashionable or politically expedient but because we have long understood that FBOs and religious leaders have great influence on their flocks in many countries and that that influence can be used to encourage healthy behavior. We have always worked with local groups to maximize our health impact, and FBOs are no exception. And here is the evidence — excerpts from PSI annual reports going back to 1993, the first year of the Clinton Administration, and long before the current emphasis on FBOs.

"PSI collaborates with local leaders, like imams in Guinea, so that their ideas can be incorporated into project design and because their support helps assure success … AIDS prevention social programs, like other activities of this nature, need community support, including from the religious community … For example, PSI collaborated with religious leaders in Guinea when, together with the national AIDS committee, PSI designed a mass media campaign which advocated faithful sexual relationships or the use of condoms. The ultimate messages took into account concerns of religious leaders and resulted in their joining the fight against AIDS … These discussions led to the campaign's dual, but collaborative theme: "The religious leaders advocate abstinence and fidelity while the partners also promote other forms of prevention — including the use of condoms." The end result — collaboration between diverse parts of society to defeat the deadly disease."
— PSI 1993-1994 Annual Report

"PSI's AIDS prevention activities involve the support and collaboration of all elements of society, including religious leaders. These interventions typically emphasize fidelity and abstinence as an effective means of prevention. PSI has conducted AIDS awareness seminars for Buddhist monks in Cambodia and has collaborated with Islamic imams in Guinea in the design of messages about abstinence and fidelity … To get the word out on AIDS in the KfW-funded Burkina Faso program, village griottes are recruited for their respected and historical role of story-telling. So too, are imams who now use their mosques to preach messages of fidelity and abstinence — all part of the national campaign in Guinea to prevent HIV/AIDS."
— PSI 1995-1996 Annual Report

"AIDS prevention is a sensitive issue requiring the support of all elements of society. PSI works with religious leaders — whether conducting AIDS awareness seminars among Buddhist monks in Cambodia, involving Islamic imams in the design of communications campaigns in Guinea, or recruiting Archbishop Desmond Tutu as well as Catholic leaders for a televised message in South Africa."
— PSI 1997-1998 Annual Report

"PSI has a history of enlisting religious leaders and groups in its HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, such as Buddhist monks in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar; Muslim imams in Guinea, Mali and Nigeria; and Christian leaders, such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in Kenya, Zambia and South Africa.

"Recognizing that religious leaders play a powerful role in shaping the opinions, attitudes and behaviors of the followers of their faiths, PSI collaborates with faith-based organizations (FBOs) that complement PSI's social marketing expertise.

"PSI develops social marketing strategies within the context of their beliefs and shares current best practices for battling the pandemic:

"PSI launched a partnership with the All Africa Conference of Churches to train church leaders throughout sub-Saharan Africa to mobilize their congregations to curb the spread of HIV through comprehensive prevention strategies and support and care for people living with HIV/AIDS.

"In Malawi, PSI works with FBOs to develop materials and activities for youth that focus on self-esteem and sexuality, and encourage abstinence, secondary abstinence and correct and consistent use of condoms for those who are sexually active and unwilling to return to abstinence.

"PSI collaborates with the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians and other FBOs to protect vulnerable young women, the victims of cross-generational sex, and promote non-judgmental HIV/AIDS education among youth.

"In Mali, the Malian League of Imams and Scholars for Islamic Solidarity and PSI are working together to establish standard sermons on HIV/AIDS that are used during Friday prayers."

— PSI 2003-2004 Annual Report

• Introduction to PSI's Work with FBOs

PSI, African religious leaders mobilize against AIDS Watch the video