The Angola President's Malaria Initiative team meets with the Archbishop of Canterbury
On Monday, March 11th, 2007, the Angola President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) team had the pleasure of meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, during his recent visit to Angola. Dr. Williams was in the region to attend a conference being held in South Africa to discuss the role of the Anglican Church in development. He was invited to Angola by Bishop André Soares, the head of the Anglican Church in Angola, to see for himself the work being done by faith-based groups and build on the momentum created following the recent launch of the Episcopal Church's Nets for Life initiative, which was attended by Admiral Timothy Ziemer, the coordinator of the PMI.
During the meeting with the PMI team, Dr. Williams and his team discussed various issues pertaining to the involvement of the church in development and how to involve the Anglican Church to a greater extent. Ambassador Efird noted how important the Anglicans, Methodists and other communities of faith were to extending the network of malaria prevention efforts. She noted the Nets for Life event of the Anglican Church of Angola inaugurated a few weeks earlier by Bishop André and Admiral Ziemer, and the community mobilization they were supporting in the border provinces of Uíge and Cunene. She also recognized the Nothing But Nets initiative with the Methodist Church, which had joined with the National Basketball Association and the UN Foundation to distribute insecticide treated bed-nets in Angola. Dr. Williams commented how he was struck by the observations of his staff about the leadership taken by USAID and the U.S. Embassy to reach out to civil society and faith-based organizations, and the personal commitment of Ambassador Efird. He encouraged USAID to explore further opportunities with Bishop Soares and the Anglican Church initiative, and discussed his desire to use the church's excellent community level links to provide services to local populations, often cut off from the formal health sector. His secretary for International Development, the Reverend David Peck, shared a pamphlet of the Anglican Communion's group Anglicans in Development (AID) and praised the sensitivity and awareness that USAID brought to the table in reaching out to and working with faith-based organizations, hoping that other development donors would follow this example and engage more fully and openly with the Church.
