Malawi Interfaith AIDS Association (MIAA)

Malawi Interfaith AIDS Association (MIAA) is a Network of faith based organisations that seeks to champion, coordinate and facilitate the interfaith community HIV and AIDS national response in the country. The Interfaith Association was established in 2003 through a need to have a united commitment from the faith community to fight the HIV and AIDS pandemic. Membership of MIAA is drawn from 6 mother bodies of Christian and Islamic beliefs The 6 mother bodies are Episcopal conference of Malawi (ECM), Evangelical association of. Malawi (EAM), Malawi Council of Churches (MCC), Quadria Muslim Association of Malawi (QMAM), Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) and Malawi Union of Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church. Efforts are being made to register the ever growing Pentecostal and Charismatic Network (PECHAN). All these mother bodies are networks in their right and have structures that transcends to the community level in rather hard-to-reach areas. Last year in Novemebrr 2017 MIAA board approved that MIAAs mandate and scope of work should expand to include Nutririon, Malaria , TB, SRHR, Family Planning , Child protection , end child marriage, ending violence against women and girls, Human rights among others. MIAA strategic objectives are achieved through:- 1. Coordination MIAA coordinates the faith based response with the aim of mobilizing and coordinating the faith community in the HIV and AIDS response. Coordination is achieved through structures at National, District and Zonal level. At National level MIAA has the Programme Technical Committee (PTC) which comprises HIV and AIDS Progamme Managers of MIAA mother bodies. The PTC meets quarterly to discuss HIV and AIDS work within the faith community. At District level, MIAA has District Interfaith AIDS Committees (DIACs) in all the 28 Districts of Malawi. Each DIAC is composed of 12 members representing the MIAA mother bodies at district levels. The DIACs oversee the faith community HIV and AIDS response within the local congregations of the different faith groups at district level. All DIACS are linked and work in collaboration with the District Assembly. DIAC are a subcommittee of the DACC. The DIACs established Zone Interfaith AIDS Committees (ZIACs) which oversee faith community HIV and AIDS programmes at Traditional Authority level, family and community levels. 2. Networking and Collaboration Coordination of the country’s faith based response is one of the most significant mandates that the Interfaith Association was established to fulfil. Under the networking and collaboration programmatic area, MIAA aims at networking with all other the faith groups and collaborate with other stakeholders in the HIV and AIDS response. MIAA works in collaboration with other stake holders like National AIDS Commission (NAC), MACRO, The District Assemblies, Malawi Network of Religious Leaders Living with HIV +(MANERELA+), Malawi Network of AIDS Service Organizations (MANASO), Malawi Business Coalition Against HIV and AIDS (MBCA), Malawi Network of People Living with HIV (MANET+), NAPHAM, Partners in Healthy. MIAA also sits in different technical working groups like, BCC, Monitoring and Evaluation, Impact Mitigation, Human Rights mainstreaming and Youth. This ensures alignment of the faith community response with the overall national HIV and AIDS response. MIAA also sits in the Malawi partnership Forum (MPF). 3. Capacity Building MIAA has performed capacity building activities in human rights, Gender and HIV and AIDS mainstreaming and linkages to HIV transmission. MIAA has also trained religious leaders, youths and couples in the evils of stigma and discrimination, the importance of couple testing and counselling and prevention of mother to child HIV transmission, the link between Gender based violence and HIV transmission and on integration of demand creation for SRH/ HIV/AIDS services with service delivery. MIAA has also targeted OVCs and PLHIV to train them in rights of patients and rights of service providers. The interfaith also equips men, women, girls and boys with HIV and AIDS management at congregational level. MIAA trains the faith community in project management and Monitoring and Evaluation. MIAA has also conducted trainings for District Interfaith AIDS Committees (DIACS) in HIV and AIDS mainstreaming, programme management, financial management. 4. Advocacy MIAA represents a united voice of the country’s major religious institutions. The Interfaith Association uses the religious tolerance among its members that has been achieved over the years to advance views that challenge policies and practices that work against access to health rights for all the citizens. Some of the advocacy issues that MIAA has pursued over the years include (a) Access to essential drugs and health services for PLHIV and (b) elimination of harmful cultural and religious practices that put people more especially women and girls at risk and susceptible to HIV infection. MIAA has also heard high level meeting on divine healing and stoppage of ARVS. Recently in the month of February 2016 MIAA and high level religious groups petition the Parliamentary Committee on Health and Population on access to drugs. 5. Resource Mobilization MIAA mobilises its financial and material resources through the various processes including proposal writing. The resources are used to do coordination, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, advocacy and documentation. MIAA Secretariat provides technical support to FBOs in proposal writing, endorses and recommends FBOs to different development partners. MIAA manages a grants facility for FBOs when resources are available. Other resources in kind are mobilized and distributed to FBOs. 6. Research, Documentation and Dissemination MIAA conducts research, documents, and disseminates findings from these researches, surveys, and field observations to inform the proper planning, monitoring and evaluation. In this regards MIAA participates in annual dissemination of research findings by NAC or College of Medicine to disseminate the results of those studies. MIAA also through Annual, General Conference, and General meeting and coordination meetings disseminates study findings among faith institutions