Estimating the Development Assistance for Health Provided to Faith-Based Organizations, 1990–2013

Background

Faith-based organizations (FBOs) have been active in the health sector for decades. Recently, the role of FBOs in global health has been of increased interest. However, little is known about the magnitude and trends in development assistance for health (DAH) channeled through these organizations.

Material and Methods

Data were collected from the 21 most recent editions of the Report of Voluntary Agencies. These reports provide information on the revenue and expenditure of organizations. Project-level data were also collected and reviewed from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. More than 1,900 non-governmental organizations received funds from at least one of these three organizations. Background information on these organizations was examined by two independent reviewers to identify the amount of funding channeled through FBOs.

Results

In 2013, total spending by the FBOs identified in the VolAg amounted to US$1.53 billion. In 1990, FB0s spent 34.1% of total DAH provided by private voluntary organizations reported in the VolAg. In 2013, FBOs expended 31.0%. Funds provided by the Global Fund to FBOs have grown since 2002, amounting to $80.9 million in 2011, or 16.7% of the Global Fund’s contributions to NGOs. In 2011, the Gates Foundation’s contributions to FBOs amounted to $7.1 million, or 1.1% of the total provided to NGOs.

Conclusion

Development assistance partners exhibit a range of preferences with respect to the amount of funds provided to FBOs. Overall, estimates show that FBOS have maintained a substantial and consistent share over time, in line with overall spending in global health on NGOs. These estimates provide the foundation for further research on the spending trends and effectiveness of FBOs in global health.     

The Role of NGOs in HIV/AIDS Prevention in Nigeria

The HIV/AIDS pandemic data in Nigeria indicates that 3.5 million Nigerians have HIV/AIDS. The Obasanjo administrations National Action Committee on AIDS is uncoordinated and lacks commitment as indicated by the shortage of antiretroviral drugs, corruption and administration of expired drugs. NGOs combating the spread of HIV in Nigeria attempt to reach many community groups, religious, womens, youth and mens organizations. The increased awareness about HIV/AIDS through promotion of public discourse has helped people to take positive action toward prevention of HIV infection.     

United Nations system efforts to support the response to AIDS in China

In the last two years, we have seen a remarkable intensification in the response to AIDS in China. A number of organizations have joined and contributed to the efforts of the Chinese government in responding the AIDS epidemic in China. This article specifically describes the role of the United Nations in supporting and strengthening those responses.Achievements of the United Nations (UN) highlighted in the article include: strengthened leadership and political commitment to respond to AIDS; improved HIV/AIDS surveillance and information; expanded prevention efforts; improved treatment, care and support to people living with HIV and increased resources for AIDS programs. Additional roles of e., one national plan on AIDS; one national coordinating authority for AIDS; and one monitoring and evaluation system for AIDS. In addition, the UN system is expected to strengthen alignment and harmonization of activities of all international organizations and improved accountability and oversight. Remaining challenges identified include increasing awareness of AIDS and reducing stigma and discrimination; reducing vulnerability and risk behaviour among specific groups;providing improved treatment, care and support for people living with HIV; promoting stronger engagement by civil society, and; addressing the gender dimensions of AIDS.     

United Nations system efforts to support the response to AIDS in China

In the last two years, we have seen a remarkable intensification in the response to AIDS in China. A number of organizations have joined and contributed to the efforts of the Chinese government in responding the AIDS epidemic in China. This article specifically describes the role of the United Nations (UN) in supporting and strengthening those responses. Achievements of the United Nations highlighted in the article include: strengthened leadership and political commitment to respond to AIDS; improved HIV/AIDS surveillance and information; expanded prevention efforts; improved treatment, care and support to people living with HIV and increased resources for AIDS programs. Additional roles of the United Nations system in the near future include strengthening national leadership by supporting the 'three ones', i.e., one national plan on AIDS; one national coordinating authority for AIDS; and one monitoring and evaluation system for AIDS. In addition, the UN system is expected to strengthen alignment and harmonization of activities of all international organizations and improved accountability and oversight. Remaining challenges identified include increasing awareness of AIDS and reducing stigma and discrimination; reducing vulnerability and risk behaviour among specific groups; providing improved treatment, care and support for people living with HIV; promoting stronger engagement by civil society, and; addressing the gender dimensions of AIDS.     

AIDS activists arrested in India

Health activists in India are outraged over the arrests of 11 AIDS activists belonging to the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Sahyog. These AIDS activists were charged with obscenity and rioting. Rioting broke out when the local print media published details of a report entitled ?AIDS and Us? that was produced by Sahyog in Hindi. The report tackled prevalent sexual practices, very low level of awareness, and other risk factors related to contracting HIV infection or developing AIDS in the rural areas of the Almora district. Critics charged the activists with destroying the image of the people of the region, portraying them as promiscuous and practicing high-risk sexual behavior. Consequently, Sahyog issued a statement of apology and promised to withdraw the report, but the district administration still banned their work in the area. Several NGOs also feel that the presentation of the report should have been more cautious.     

Challenges and Opportunities： the Expanded Government-led HIV/AIDS Programs in China

HIV/AIDS has posed an increasingly serious issue in China. In recent years,Chinese government has taken further intensified efforts to combat HIV/AIDS with high-level political commitment,supportive policy development,increased financial allocation,large-scale of government-led initiatives,expanded international cooperation and great involvement of non-governmental organizations. Meanwhile gaps and challenges coexist impacting the implementation and the results of national HIV/AIDS programs. Thus,further government efforts are needed to improve and tailor the actions to meet the requirement of HIV/AIDS control in China.     

International NGOs and Land Use Change in a Southern Highland Region of Ecuador

Nongovernmental organizations are increasingly influencing resource management and land use in areas of small farm agriculture in Latin America. A field study of NGOs working in upper Canar, a region in the southern highlands of Ecuador, documents the changing human environment relations in an indigenous area and the influence of NGOs in the change process. Case studies of PLAN International and CARE indicate that the NGOs are helping marginalized producers shift land use away from traditional grains and tubers toward dairying and vegetables. Given current needs and resource constraints, the new land uses represent effective adaptive strategies. However, the NGO work is having notable consequences for land use intensity and labor utilization patterns.     

Uncivil society: the politics of HIV activism in Pakistan

This article presents an ethnography of the Association of the People Living with HIV in Pakistan, established under the auspices of UNAIDS, international NGOs, and the government's AIDS control department as an attempt to strengthen ‘civil society’. It was initially run by formerly marginalized HIV‐positive leaders of community‐based organizations (CBOs), until a young university‐educated HIV‐positive man from America was selected as its national co‐ordinator. One of the ways in which this new entrant undermined the dominance of long‐established leaders of the ‘PLHIV’ (People Living with HIV) sector was to democratize the Association by attempting to hold country‐wide elections among HIV‐positive people and de‐linking the Association from the CBOs. The resulting tug of war between the pioneers of HIV activism and a privileged newcomer with a savvy agenda revealed the politics of community, the importance of numbers, the ideal of democracy, and the breaking down of monopolies. This article explores how the Association became a site of contested claims instead of serving its envisaged purpose of bringing HIV‐positive people together on a common platform and agenda for a shared good. I argue that the recent literature that examines the activism of HIV‐positive people in terms of ‘biological citizenship’, or their organizations as spaces where people are subjectivated as ‘therapeutic citizens’ with a potential for world‐wide solidarity, must be reconsidered in light of the local histories and sociologies of HIV, and would benefit from a greater appreciation of the activists’ moral complexity.     

JUSTIFIED COMMITMENTS? CONSIDERING RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND FAIRNESS IN MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES‐HOLLAND

Non-governmental aid programs are an important source of health care for many people in the developing world. Despite the central role non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play in the delivery of these vital services, for the most part they either lack formal systems of accountability to their recipients altogether, or have only very weak requirements in this regard. This is because most NGOs are both self-mandating and self-regulating. What is needed in terms of accountability is some means by which all the relevant stakeholders can have their interests represented and considered. An ideally accountable decision-making process for NGOs should identify acceptable justifications and rule out unacceptable ones. Thus, the point of this paper is to evaluate three prominent types of justification given for decisions taken at the Dutch headquarters of Médecins sans Frontières. They are: population health justifications, mandate-based justifications and advocacy-based justifications. The central question at issue is whether these justifications are sufficiently robust to answer the concerns and objections that various stakeholders may have. I am particularly concerned with the legitimacy these justifications have in the eyes of project beneficiaries. I argue that special responsibilities to certain communities can arise out of long-term engagement with them, but that this type of priority needs to be constrained such that it does not exclude other potential beneficiaries to an undesirable extent. Finally, I suggest several new institutional mechanisms that would enhance the overall equity of decisions and so would ultimately contribute to the legitimacy of the organization as a whole.     

Disciplinary citizenship in South Korean NGOs' narratives of resettlement for North Korean refugees

This article explores how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in South Korea articulate and implement disciplinary citizenship in the resettlement of North Korean refugees. Fieldwork based on in-depth interviews reveals that NGOs play a pivotal role in carrying out the state-led resettlement project at the local level. As disciplinary agents, NGOs mirror the state's policy in their emphasis on self-sufficiency and workfare as they encourage North Koreans to become economically productive citizens. Concomitantly, they emphasize civic contributions and volunteerism as a remedy for improving the social reputation of North Koreans as welfare recipients to that of contributing citizens. This focus on active, responsible citizenship aims at disciplining North Koreans to become docile subjects at the bottom of the social ladder, despite persistent economic difficulties and social marginalization in South Korea. Thus, refugees are pressured not only to achieve economic self-sufficiency, but to contribute to society in order to claim their sociocultural citizenship.     

International non-governmental actors in HIV/AIDS prevention in China

International non-governmental organizations were among the first international actors that responded to the emergence of AIDS crisis in China. Since 1994, the number of international non-governmental organizations and charitable foundations working in AIDS related issue areas in China has grown steadily and substantially. Despite their organizational differences, most of these non-governmental actors present the characteristics of independent mission, localized practice and diverse working focus. Even though they are constrained by financial and other factors compared with multilateral and bilateral official assistance agencies, they have still played a unique role in fighting against AIDS in China as technical experts, public educators, and civil society supporters.     

International non-governmental actors in HIV/AIDS prevention in China

International non-governmental organizations were among the first international actors that responded to the emergence of AIDS crisis in China. Since 1994, the number of international non-governmental organizations and charitable foundations working in AIDS related issue areas in China has grown steadily and substantially. Despite their organizational differences, most of these non-governmental actors present the characteristics of independent mission, localized practice and diverse working focus. Even though they are constrained by financial and other factors compared with multilateral and bilateral official assistance agencies, they have still played a unique role in fighting against AIDS in China as technical experts, public educators, and civil society supporters.     

International non-governmental actors in HIV/AIDS prevention in China

INTRODUCTION This research examines a group of international non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and private founda- tions that have worked and/or are still working in HIV/ AIDS prevention related issue areas in China. Main char- acteristics of this tr…     

International non-governmental actors in HIV/AIDS prevention in China

International non-governmental organizations were among the first international actors that responded to the emergence of AIDS crisis in China. Since 1994, the number of international non-governmental organizations and charitable foundations working in AIDS related issue areas in China has grown steadily and substantially. Despite their organizational differences, most of these non-governmental actors present the characteristics of independent mission, localized practice and diverse working focus. Even though they are constrained by financial and other factors compared with multilateral and bilateral official assistance agencies, they have still played a unique role in fighting against AIDS in China as technical experts, public educators, and civil society supporters.     

Challenges and opportunities: the expanded government-led HIV/AIDS programs in China

HIV/AIDS has posed an increasingly serious issue in China. In recent years, Chinese government has taken further intensified efforts to combat HIV/AIDS with high-level political commitment, supportive policy development, increased financial allocation, large-scale of government-led initiatives, expanded international cooperation and great involvement of non-governmental organizations. Meanwhile gaps and challenges coexist impacting the implementation and the results of national HIV/AIDS programs. Thus, further government efforts are needed to improve and tailor the actions to meet the requirement of HIV/AIDS control in China. Foundation item: China International Clinical, Operational, and Health Services Research and Training Award with NIH grant number of U2R TW006918.     

Why academics should study the supply chains of individual corporations

Although fields such as industrial ecology have advanced our understanding of how cleaner technologies, recycling, and lifestyle changes can reduce the impacts of production and consumption on people and planet, environmental deterioration and social injustices stubbornly persist. New strategies are needed to achieve change in an era of increasing urgency. This paper proposes that academics study the supply chains of individual corporations and link them to environmental and social impacts in geographically specific areas. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have used this approach successfully, issuing reports about corporate activity related to deforestation, sweatshops, and other issues of social concern. But academics, by and large, have studied generic products, industries, and sectors. To verify this, after reviewing approximately 11,000 studies on supply chains, we identified just 27 academic papers that focused on individual corporations. These were primarily by NGOs and social scientists, with no studies by industrial ecologists meeting our review criteria. To uncover corporate supply chains, researchers used two distinct methodological approaches: in situ (interviews, surveys, and surveillance) and ex situ (trade data, document analysis, and maps). In this paper, we explain why and how academics should study the supply chains of individual corporations. This is done by combining approaches from industrial ecology, with those from geography, sociology, and other social sciences to develop a political‐industrial ecology of supply chains. This both physically links actual product flows with their environmental impacts, and explores how they affect justice, equity, and welfare. The work we propose offers clear collaborative linkages with NGOs, industry, and the media.     

The response of the Italian press to AIDS: a 22-month analysis.

This study analyses the way in which the Italian press reported Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) over a 22-month period from September 1993 to June 1995, when no national AIDS information campaigns were made in Italy. During this period we collected, read, and categorized every article relating to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and AIDS in fourteen newspapers and two news magazines with the highest national circulation. Articles were then assigned to one of six content categories: statistics, basic science, cure and vaccine, education/awareness and prevention issue, government or non-goverment organizations response, and people with AIDS (PWA) personal portrayals. A total of 4,228 articles referring to HIV/AIDS were identified. Analysis of the featured topics reveals several clear differences in the coverage of aspects of AIDS. The major category was represented by government or non-goverment organization response which accounted for 1,341 articles. Overall, this analysis suggests that, even long after the beginning of the epidemic, the press continues to see AIDS as an important issue. However, the articles explaining scientifically the AIDS epidemic were very few. The majority of AIDS-related information was spread in consequence of sensational events. Further analysis of PWA coverage shows that most articles discussed news that could provoke a negative feeling towards HIV-infected patients among the general population.     

Non-Governmental Organizations and Craft Producers: Exchanges South and North

This article concerns visual and verbal methods of communicating about Peruvian handicrafts. The text is a discussion about exchanges among international agencies and community organizations that promote, produce, and sell artisanry in theglobal market as a part of social and economic aid efforts. Research for this study comes out of informal interviews with workers in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Peru over a 15-year period. The directorship and staff at one agency, a combined NGO-ATO (alternative trading organization), provided the impetus and background for what follows, as well as the illustrations. According to the organization workers, an imbalance between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres often appears in the relative willingness of those involved in the world craftwork industry either to supply, or receive, requests or suggestions through non-Western and nonverbal means. The graphics that appear throughout this article are attempts to clarify and highlight certain issues without distraction for a largely literate audience that, the agency workers worry, is not paying enough attention. Local and regional NGOs and ATOs of the Southern Hemisphere must strive to explain things clearly in terms that translate to supporters, customers, ATOs, and advisors in the North as well as to their constituents and partners in the South, regardless of the level of flexibility on the part of either to respond. Visual methods are among the tactics that workers in the South employ.     

The reduction of the HIV vulnerability of women involved in the sex business in Ukraine through social mobilization and the creation of self-support networks

The importance of making plans on projects and measures, aimed at the prevention of HIV infection and the social development of female sex workers (FSW) with due regard to observing the principles of human rights protection, is discussed. The materials and resolutions of the First International Conference "Social Development of HIV-Vulnerable Groups of Population", held of Kiev on December 26, 1998, are presented. The conference was attended by representatives of state and public organizations, specialists on the organization of the prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases among FSW, lawyers, physicians and representatives of the HIV-vulnerable target group (FSW) from 7 Ukrainian cities and from Belarus. All these activities contributed to the implementation of the Project "FSW Network Initiative with NGOs" in 11 Ukrainian cities, starting from September 1999, with the support of UNAIDS. The possibility of the mobilization of FSW for organizing self-support groups with a view to protect their rights and to take themselves measures for HIV/AIDS prevention among FSW is shown.     

Strategies to enable the adoption of animal biotechnology to sustainably improve global food safety and security

The ability to generate transgenic animals has existed for over 30 years, and from those early days many predicted that the technology would have beneficial applications in agriculture. Numerous transgenic agricultural animals now exist, however to date only one product from a transgenic animal has been approved for the food chain, due in part to cumbersome regulations. Recently, new techniques such as precision breeding have emerged, which enables the introduction of desired traits without the use of transgenes. The rapidly growing human population, environmental degradation, and concerns related to zoonotic and pandemic diseases have increased pressure on the animal agriculture sector to provide a safe, secure and sustainable food supply. There is a clear need to adopt transgenic technologies as well as new methods such as gene editing and precision breeding to meet these challenges and the rising demand for animal products. To achieve this goal, cooperation, education, and communication between multiple stakeholders—including scientists, industry, farmers, governments, trade organizations, NGOs and the public—is necessary. This report is the culmination of concepts first discussed at an OECD sponsored conference and aims to identify the main barriers to the adoption of animal biotechnology, tactics for navigating those barriers, strategies to improve public perception and trust, as well as industry engagement, and actions for governments and trade organizations including the OECD to harmonize regulations and trade agreements. Specifically, the report focuses on animal biotechnologies that are intended to improve breeding and genetics and currently are not routinely used in commercial animal agriculture. We put forward recommendations on how scientists, regulators, and trade organizations can work together to ensure that the potential benefits of animal biotechnology can be realized to meet the future needs of agriculture to feed the world.