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Capacity Statement
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The Expanded Church Response to HIV/AIDS Trust in Zambia (ECR)―a legal trust with the mission of coordinating faith-based responses to HIV/AIDS―was founded in 2003 when 220 church leaders decided that it was time for the church to take collective action to confront the HIV/AIDS pandemic. ECR empowers and equips the church to have an expanded, comprehensive, coordinated and compassionate response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in every community in Zambia. ECR provides information and skills building to strengthen the considerable human capacity and social infrastructure of Zambia's Christian community, which includes more than 14,000 individual churches and millions of potential volunteers.
ECR is the only Christian umbrella organization supporting faith based responses to HIV in Zambia. ECR provides information and skills building regarding HIV prevention to its member organizations in Zambia. It also advocates for and supports the church as a source of attitudinal and behavioral change in the community; especially with respect to decreasing stigma and discrimination toward people living with HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, ECR advocates for and supports the church's poverty-reduction efforts and works to catalyze a comprehensive, coordinated response from Christian institutions and churches in every community in Zambia.
ECR supports member organizations by organizing national conferences; conducting needs assessments and information sharing visits; training church leaders and peer educators; distributing educational materials; spearheading campaigns on stigma reduction; providing grants to FBOs; and developing strategic partnerships for delivery of HIV/AIDS care and treatment services. In August 2003, ECR successfully completed a nationwide study to examine what the church was doing to address HIV/AIDS in Zambia. Since its inception, ECR has initiated numerous similar projects and studies with support from local donors and volunteer staff. ECR is particularly indebted to its member organizations and other local FBOs.
The comparative advantage that ECR has in working through the churches is its ability to mobilize a standing army of volunteers, and the ability to act through an established infrastructure already in existence throughout the country. ECR is especially effective at working in the rural areas that most NGOs, especially those spread over multiple countries, have considerable difficulty reaching.
ECR is a highly qualified team with extensive experience and a history of successful grant management in HIV/AIDS programming. ECR has implemented both USAID and non-USAID programs including: Global Fund programs, in conjunction with the Christian Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ); Swedish Caritas; AIDS Relief; RAPIDS; ZPCT in conjunction with Family Health International (FHI); and FABRIC, also with FHI. ECR, with its focus on rural communities, has built the capacity of over 94 FBOs and health facilities, which has resulted in the delivery of high quality care, support and treatment to more than 28,270 beneficiaries in five of Zambia's nine provinces.
ECR, under the leadership of an executive director and national program coordinator, is currently managing an annual budget in excess of $1.5 million.
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