Background

CIFA was founded by development philanthropist Edward W. Scott, Jr. and launched by Mr. Scott in September 2008 at the Clinton Global Initiative. Jean F. Duff was the First Executive Director and co-founder.

A Programmatic Overview

MALARIA

Nigerian Inter-Faith Action Association (NIFAA) – NIGERIA

CIFA created NIFAA, an independent, Nigerian-managed NGO, to mobilize religious leaders of all faiths to partner with the government as advocates and leaders in public health and development campaigns. To date, NIFAA has trained more than 15,000 faith leaders in behavior-change communications for malaria. Where NIFAA is active, independent evidence suggests that long-lasting insecticide-treated net usage has more than doubled.

Programa Inter-Religioso Contra a Malaria (PIRCOM) – MOZAMBIQUE

CIFA provides technical support to PIRCOM, a Mozambican NGO that seeks to support national anti-malaria efforts in Mozambique by training and mobilizing faith leaders across the country. In partnership with AED’s USAID-funded C-Change project, CIFA recently assisted PIRCOM in the creation of a five-year strategic plan and continues to support PIRCOM’s development.

WOMEN & GIRLS

The Faith Effect on Women and Girls – NIGERIA & ETHIOPIA

With support from the Nike Foundation, CIFA is working in Nigeria and Ethiopia to improve the health and well-being of girls by delaying the age of marriage and the age of first birth, and reducing the prevalence of female genital cutting (FGC).

HIV/AIDS

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis & HIV-Prevention Research – SOUTH AFRICA, MOZAMBIQUE, KENYA

As a partner to Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CIFA is carrying out a research and education project that seeks to educate religious leaders about the emerging technology of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in the context of broader HIV-prevention efforts. This project seeks to ensure that the concerns and influence of religious leaders inform and support the potential rollout of PrEP, starting with consultations in South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique and Nigeria.