Lutheran Church in Liberia AIDS Program (LCL)
Organizational Profile
The Lutheran Church in Liberia prioritized the response towards HIV and AIDS in 2001, 15 years after the first HIV positive case in Liberia was identified at the Curran Lutheran Hospital.
The program developed objectives and activities related to establishing HIV voluntary counseling and testing centers, training counselors, creating community awareness in HIV and AIDS, sensitization and mobilization for a community-based response to AIDS pandemic e.g. mobilization of traditional leaders and healers, Traditional Birth Attendants and enabling people living with HIV to do advocacy work.
The project prioritized issues of stigma and discrimination, inadequate comprehensive knowledge of HIV and AIDS and necessary protective behavior, orphans and vulnerable young people; and socio-cultural issues. Three primary objectives have been developed to address these issues, namely:
- To mobilize and sensitize grass-root community for a community-based response to the AIDS crisis and to increase access to voluntary counselling and testing;
- To prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS through behavior change especially among young people; and
- To improve the quality of life of people living with HIV through empowerment, advocacy and creating an environment of care and support for those infected.
List your organization Areas of Expertise (AoE)
- HIV Counselling and Testing
- Training of HIV Counselors
- Capacity Development – Community Structures
- Empowerment of Community Based Organization
- Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Programming
- Community health initiative
The LCL AIDS Programme has successfully implemented several projects through collaboration with some International and local partners including Danish Mission Council Development Department/Center for Church Based Development, Church of Sweden now Act Church of Sweden, Lutheran World Federation, Global Fund/National AIDS & STIs Control Program of Liberia (GFTAM/NACP), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Mercy Corps and Family Health International (FHI) 360, among others. Interventions have focused on the mobilization of grassroots communities for a community-based response to HIV, creating an enabling environment for People Living with HIV (PLHIV), and providing services for Key Population ( Female Sex Workers) (FSWs) to access HIV services. The Programme considers these interventions paramount to maintain HIV epidemic control among at risk men, women and priority population.
The program has established several VCT centers providing quality services in most parts of the country, and has contributed to a model for the country for quality training of counselors in the country, and has contributed to the development of life skills and empowerment of many individuals, including in and out of school youth and PLHIV (People Living with HIV).
Vision:
- We envision a society where HIV and AIDS will be given a Human Face through a reduction in its psychosocial impact, in that families and society will accept and live with those infected and affected.
Goal:
- To contribute to the national HIV and AIDS response, which seeks to promote positive change of behavior and reduce the psychosocial impact of HIV and AIDS on the individual and society.
Mission Statement: Providing Hope Amidst Despair.