Religious Leaders Create Network to Fight Maternal Death, AIDS and Poverty

ISTANBUL, 22 Oct (IPS) - More than 75 religious leaders and representatives of Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith-based organisations have formed a Global Interfaith Network to strengthen cooperation against the global urgencies of maternal death, AIDS and poverty.

The Interfaith Network was formed in Istanbul at the conclusion of a two-day Global Forum of Faith-based Organisations, convened by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which has partnerships with over 400 different faith-based organisations in more than 100 countries. Leaders of faith-based groups from Africa, the Arab region, Asia and the Pacific, Eastern Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean established the Network on Population and Development.

"We commit to work together and join forces to advance human conditions and realise the rights of individuals, with attention to women and young people," the leaders pledged. They also committed to share their experiences and affirmed the common aims of safeguarding the dignity and human rights of all peoples. "We gathered here in Istanbul to discuss common challenges and to reach common ground," said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA's executive director, inaugurating the network. The common ground, she continued, was "how we can work together to ensure that every birth is wanted, every pregnancy is safe, every young person is free of HIV, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect. "We have learned that the teachings of faith traditions can address root causes and focus on prevention to make progress in the areas we have discussed," Obaid said. These, she continued, include "to improve maternal health, promote the empowerment of women, address HIV and AIDS and the challenges faced by youth and migrants, to tackle violence against women and provide support to people affected by conflict and crisis."

Mustafa Cagrici, representative of religious affairs in Turkey, opened the Global Forum that gave birth to the Interfaith Network Monday. Without the power of religions, he said, many of today's problems cannot be solved. He commended UNFPA for understanding the important role of religious leaders in solving many social problems. "We have learned that while we come from different faiths, different regions and different experiences we share the common values of compassion, tolerance, respect for differences, and a passion to try to improve the lives of the people we serve," said Obaid.

Many representatives at the Global Forum said that, in order to achieve concrete results, network members should build bridges among religious leaders, political decision makers and secular civil society. They also said that all members of the network at the national, regional and global levels should be connected, treated as equal partners, and work together to find solutions through their respective beliefs and actions. Strong country and regional alliances will constitute necessary building blocks for effective networking and common action.

Swaziland About To Eliminate Malaria

MBABANE, Oct 22 (IPS) - Hot on the heels of Mauritius, health experts predict Swaziland will be the second country in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to eliminate malaria. '

Malaria kills more than one million people worldwide most of whom are children under five years and almost 90 percent of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria killed five people last year in Swaziland.

The SADC Malaria Strategic Plan -- a malaria elimination programme that aims to wipe out the disease in the region -- lists Swaziland, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia as countries where malaria elimination is possible. Swaziland is likely to be the first country of the four to reach this goal.

If Swaziland manages to eradicate malaria for three consecutive years, the World Health Organisation (WHO) will declare the country a malaria-free zone and issue a certificate of elimination.