The role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in development can be contentious. Some consider faith in itself unempirical or irrational and thus unintelligent. Some think faith groups base their programs and policies on feelings rather than facts. Others worry that FBOs do not respect peoples' local beliefs and customs; they shudder at the thought of someone demanding conversion in exchange for life-saving medicine. And since President Bush, who went on a five-country tour of Africa last week, made supporting FBOs a pillar of his support for African and other assistance efforts, many fear that condom distribution has taken a back seat to abstinence-only education (even though PEPFAR, the U.S. president's AIDS program, is one of the largest distributors of condoms in the world).

The bottom line is: FBOs are doing a lot in developing countries to meet the needs of the poor, and they will continue to do so for decades to come. If we think understanding country context is important, and of course we do, then we need to understand and know what FBOs and churches and faith communities are doing and how far their reach extends. And we could always stand to learn more from people working in developing countries, both because it enriches our work, and because it can go a long way toward healing the deep divide between Washington and people on the ground, between the secular policy wonks and the Christians, Muslims, Jews and others delivering assistance in developing countries.

George W. Bush’s trip to Africa is likely to be crowded out of the headlines by the presidential campaign. Too bad. President Bush’s bold program to fight AIDS has been, arguably, the most successful initiative of his administration in solving problems and improving America’s image overseas.

The candidates who wish to succeed him – as well as Congress which decides how taxpayer money is invested - would do well to take note. Under Bush, the United States has taken a leadership role in the global fight against AIDS, greatly increasing funding for AIDS prevention and care. But PEPFAR hasn’t just thrown money at the problem; it has empowered communities and private organizations to find local solutions.

In Zambia, World Vision works with a consortium of aid organizations to mobilize and support 120 community - and faith-based organizations. To date, PEPFAR has committed $57 million to the program. But this public funding is being leveraged to attract an equal amount of private aid. Churches and businesses throughout the U.S. have provided Caregiver Kits, containing basic supplies needed by 15,000 Zambian volunteers who are looking after adults and children affected by AIDS.

Nairobi, 15th – 21st FEBRUARY, 2007:- Someone very important will be visiting Africa, specifically 5 countries including Tanzania, Rwanda, Benin, Ghana and Liberia. He is the President of the United States of America. The hassles of hosting a US president are bad enough. His people take over your whole country and make our normally inefficient states go into over drive and our egregious First Ladies and their husbands go into overkill to show their hospitality. We never knew many of them could bend their knees until they were leading cleaning troops across the capitals in preparation for Clinton’s visit in 1998 from Kampala to Accra!

I could not forget seeing resident Museveni being a perfect gentleman with a spread umbrella for Mrs Clinton! In Accra, Jerry Rawlings and Mrs Rawlings went out of their ways for a few hours of stop over. But with Bush it is not just the ridiculous security and obsequious protocol laid on by our Presidents that concerns me. African hospitality knows no bounds. Remember some of our chiefs and Kings were so friendly that they parted with ancestral lands and carted away able bodied young men and women for as little as mirrors, umbrellas and walking sticks! Whatever our rational concerns though, the officials in the five ‘chosen’ countries will be beside themselves to give him a reception he will never forget. To them, it is a major diplomatic and political coup for the President of the US to be visiting their countries. It shows their “ungrateful” citizens how very important these leaders are.

This week researchers are meeting in Seattle to discuss the 33 vaccine trials happening right now on every continent. The recent revelation that for every one person treated, six new people get infected has redirected crucial attention to the race for an HIV vaccine.

From an editorial in the Seattle Times:

“Treating those infected with HIV or who have full-blown AIDS is critical. But no one should forget that there is no way out of the AIDS epidemic without a vaccine.

Seattle has become a gateway for such efforts. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation last year put $287 million behind the collaborative efforts of 165 scientists from 19 countries. Long-term grants and improved funding from nonprofit organizations and the federal government have attracted more scientists, including younger ones, to the vaccine search.”

The recent murder on three lesbians and the sacking of a deputy health minister overshadowed the celebration of National Women’s Day, a public holiday in South Africa.

The day commemorates the national march of women on August 9, 1956 to petition against legislation that curtailed an African's freedom of movement during the apartheid era. The women sang a protest song of which the phrase: "you strike a woman, you strike a rock" has come to represent women's courage and strength in South Africa

South Africa's 1996 constitution, one of the world's most progressive, was the first in the world to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, these murders showed the country is failing to live up to its constitutional promise to protect all its citizens, the international rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday.