Working with religious leaders and faith-based organizations

© UNICEF/HQ02-0567/Pirozzi

Engaging religious and political leaders in efforts to enable UNICEF to pursue its goals and targets more effectively in Islamic countries and countries with large Muslim populations is an important focus of UNICEF's work, and will continue throughout the UNITE FOR CHILDREN  UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign.

Religions for Peace (RFP) is an essential partner in efforts to engage with religious leadership. A six country study carried out in southern Africa by UNICEF and the RFP demonstrates the potential of organized religion in programming on orphans and vulnerable children and AIDS.

RFP and the network of Inter-religious Councils it has established in many countries, have tremendous potentialas supporters of UNICEF programme priorities especially on HIV/AIDS.

As the UNITE FOR CHILDREN  UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign is launched, UNICEF and RFP will also be exploring ways to systematically engage the religious communities in the campaign. There are ongoing opportunities to address the capacity and mobilization needs of religious communities to start scaling orphan and vulnerable care and support children and AIDS interventions.