Nairobi — THERE IS someone in our midst called Mary who is HIV positive," boomed the voice from one of the many loudspeakers at Uhuru Park, Nairobi. "Mary, the Good Lord wants to cure your illness and end your suffering. Please, step forward."

This is a scene from one of the many "miracle" healing crusades that have come to be associated with the new crop of charismatic preachers in Kenya.

The message to their followers dwells on prosperity and miracle healing, which is what most people want to hear.

There have been allegations that some of the evangelists capitalise on people's desperation for a short cut to a better life or cure for terminal illnesses. In some instances, the worshippers have been asked to contribute huge sums of money before they receive the miracle cure or riches.

There are, however, some religious leaders and faith-based organisations who are making an invaluable contribution to the fight against the pandemic. The important role they are playing, especially in HIV/Aids care and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa have now been recognised by the World Health Organisation.

The WHO says greater collaboration between faith-based organisations and public health agencies is needed if the goal of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010 is to be achieved.

A study, Appreciating assets: mapping, understanding, translating and engaging religious health assets in Zambia and Lesotho, was released last week by the health body, estimates that between 30 and 70 per cent of the health infrastructure in Africa is currently owned by faith-based organisations. Unfortunately, there is often little co-operation between these organisations and mainstream public health programmes.

The report concludes that greater co-ordination and better communication are urgently needed between organisations of different faiths and the private and public health sectors.

According to the director of the department of HIV/Aids at the WHO, Kevin De Cock, the faith-based organisations (FBOs) provide a substantial portion of care in developing countries, often reaching vulnerable populations living under adverse conditions.

"FBOs must be recognised as essential contributors towards universal access efforts," he said.

The study focused on Lesotho and Zambia, which had HIV prevalence rates of 23.2 and 17 per cent respectively in 2005. It found that Christian hospitals and health centres are providing about 40 per cent of HIV care and treatment services in Lesotho and almost a third in Zambia.

The study was undertaken by partners in the African Religious Health Assets Programme (ARHAP) at the Universities of Cape Town, KwaZulu-Natal and Witwatersrand in South Africa, and researchers from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in the US.

IT ARGUES THAT health, religion and cultural norms and values define the health-seeking strategies of many Africans and the failure of health policy makers to understand the influence of religion and the important role of FBOs in HIV treatment and care could seriously undermine efforts to scale up health services.

"WHO has done a great service in quantifying the role of the faith community in providing HIV/Aids care and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa," Reverend Canon John L. Peterson, director of the Centre for Global Justice and Reconciliation at Washington Cathedral said.

"Pastors, imams and volunteers who minister to those who are suffering from deadly diseases are fully aware of their constituents' needs and have responded with care on the front lines," he added.

The report calls for greater dialogue and action between religious and public health leaders in expanding community workshops to engage more FBOs in community health work; extending health mapping to identify FBOs that could help in scaling up services and further collaborative research.

"We have only scratched the surface of what is happening and it is already clear that there is so much more to learn," WHO Department of HIV/Aids partnerships officer Ted Karpf said. "Donors and health-care funders need to take the role of FBOs into account. Without the FBOs, the hope of universal access to prevention, treatment and care is lost."