Meeting of Catholic Organizations engaged in HIV and AIDS Response 23-26 January, 2006, Geneva, Switzerland Introductory Remarks at “Welcome Session”, January 23 Katherine Marshall, the World Bank Appreciation at being Part of the Meeting - This meeting has special importance, for you particularly, but also for us (from the “secular development world”). I am privileged to be part of it, and thank you for your welcome.
- The meeting offers opportunities to learn, above all how different parts of this vast network approach the many issues we confront in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and the issues you see.
- Learning how this system, of Catholic medical care particularly, works, both in practice and in theory, is a major objective, as this is not always obvious to an outsider to the system.
- A central objective for being here is to establish communication links so we can work more effectively together in the future and remain in touch, during good times and bad.
The World Bank, HIV/AIDS, Faith institutions, and the “Catholic World” - I hope it is well known, even “obvious” to you, that the World Bank cares deeply and is deeply engaged in the fight against HIV and AIDS. It is a central priority, and is central to strategic discussions with the most affected countries.
- The Bank’s financial commitments are very substantial (over US2 billion commitments to date). In our eyes, though, the importance of our policy and intellectual roles are at least as important.
- The Bank’s role and position places us well to engage on how the HIV and AIDS challenge fits in national strategies and their practical manifestations: budgets, long term plans, sector approaches, education systems etc.
- We encourage you strongly to be involved where you can in these issues and processes, with the Poverty Reduction Strategy processes of particular importance.
- The World Bank engages with faith institutions at national, regional and international levels, and in this contact there are myriad contacts with Catholic institutions over the years. However, as you well know our engagement is patchy and our knowledge and partnerships are far less than we would like. Initiatives to work with faith institutions globally have met considerable opposition, skepticism, and indifference. It is useful to be aware of the sources of this tension even as we work together to build on the strong common ground between faith and development institutions on many issues, not least HIV and AIDS.
- We are well aware that Catholic medical institutions play critical roles in a large number of countries and have experience that is a critical part of the story of development. We know you are vital partners and I would like to see much more dialogue and much richer partnerships.
- We need help in realizing this objective because at this stage we know too little about each other. Hopefully we can make a start here in rectifying that situation.
Some Ideas for Agenda - .Your agenda is rich and carefully crafted, and I can attend only part of the meeting. My hope is that you will address two sets of issues that we see at the intersection of our respective and different areas of strength and engagement. These are first, coordination and harmonization, and second a probing, demanding and disciplined dialogue on issues, including problems that are proving tough or intractable for us all and those where we do not always agree.
- The theme of harmonization is central to the conference agenda, as well as for country after country. Multiple actors bring ideas, energy and resources, but they can also add up to an unmanageable situation. The three One’s address the need for coherence and coordination. But translating these good principles to reality will challenge us all A first stage is knowing what is happening, in a meaningful sense. A second is workable, practical mechanisms for solving problems.
- There are many areas of strong common interest among us, and a solid foundation on which to build: common concern for people who suffer and are at risk, commitment to professionalism, concern for excellence in governance, and appreciation for the complexity of issues among them. There are also areas of real disagreement. On these areas I hope we can commit ourselves both to understanding the real positions of each party and the analysis and experience on which it is based, and engage in dialogue about the touchy areas. The role of women and women’s reproductive health rights may be the best example. So is the optimal approach for dealing with orphans. Sometimes it may be best to “agree to disagree”, but in others a dialogue process may help to find and solidify a larger area of common ground.
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