Activists from church and faith-based organizations are preparing for a world conference on HIV/AIDS. Organizers plan to call on government and religious leaders to keep their promises for action to halt the spread of the disease. “Faith-based organizations will be strategic about advocacy,” says Linda Hartke, of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance based in Geneva. “We are making sure they are prepared to take advantage of the unique opportunity offered to meet with their minister of health, the head of a pharmaceutical company, or the executive director of the Global Fund.” The Sixteenth International AIDS Conference, to be held in Toronto from 13 to 18 August 2006 is expected to draw more than 15,000 participants from the health, government, and corporate sectors and from four hundred faith-based organizations. (Ecumenical News International)
