November 2002
At its fall
2002 meeting, ELCA Global Mission approved the following
resolution in support of Africa. The resolution reads:
The board of ELCA Global Mission calls upon ELCA Global Mission to make these concerns
known through its educational activities.
The board of ELCA Global Mission recommends to the Church Council that the ELCA:
1) consider bringing to the attention of
pharmaceutical companies in which the ELCA holds corporate shares the
need for them to support national and international efforts to make
generic antiretroviral (ARV) drugs accessible to persons living with
HIV/AIDS in developing countries;
2) continue to raise with U.S.
government officials and intergovernmental bodies the need for U.S.
policy to reflect these concerns;
3) continue to request ELCA members to
respond through the ELCA World Hunger Appeal to its international
emergency appeals to meet the urgent needs of people facing hunger in
Africa due to drought and famine, bearing in mind that persons living
with HIV/AIDS are usually the most nutritionally at risk;
4) request an urgent response by the
U.S. government bilaterally and through multilateral agencies to the
famine and drought;
5) build better awareness of these
issues throughout the ELCA; and
6) encourage ecumenical bodies in which
it participates and their other members to take similar actions.
CC ACTION
To receive the resolution of ELCA Global Mission related to famine and HIV and AIDS in Africa;
To encourage efforts by individuals,
congregations, synods, and the churchwide organization to increase awareness
of these issues throughout the ELCA;
To request that ELCA members give generously
to the ELCA’s World Hunger Appeal, "Stand with Africa" program,
and international emergency appeals to respond to the urgent needs of people
affected by hunger, drought, famine, and disease in Africa;
To request that the ELCA, through its
advocacy offices, request an urgent response to the drought and famine in
Africa by the U.S. government bilaterally and through multilateral agencies;
To refer the following to the Division for
Church in Society with the request that the division consider the following
in its ongoing work:
(1) Request that pharmaceutical companies
in which the ELCA holds corporate shares support national and
international efforts to make generic antiretroviral (ARV) drugs accessible to persons living with
HIV and AIDS in countries in need; and
(2) Continue to raise with U.S. government
officials and intergovernmental bodies the need for U.S. policy to reflect
concerns related to hunger, drought, famine, and disease in developing
countries;
To request that the National Council of
the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. support similar actions; and
To request that the Division for
Congregational Ministries and the Division for Church in Society keep ELCA Global Mission apprised of their actions in support of this
resolution.
