Last week, South Africa celebrated, near Johannesburg, an important HIV milestone. Due to excellent partnership and program execution, management of a very large U.S. grant supporting HIV care and treatment for more than 60,000 people is shifting from the international hands of the CRS-led AIDSRelief consortium into the local hands of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), St. Mary’s Hospital, and the Institute for Youth Development-South Africa.

“This event honors the commitment and success of the Catholic Church in caring for the world’s largest population of people with HIV. About 150 people attended, including officials from the Catholic Church, South African government, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control,” said CRS South Africa Country Representative Ruth Stark. “The program ended with most of us in tears when a 12-year-old orphan told the audience about his life and how the services he had received had supported him, emotionally as well as materially. He concluded by saying how happy he was to have had the opportunity to share his story, adding ‘I want to look you in the eye and thank you.’” (source: Catholic Relief Services)

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