http://www.rainerbrandl.at/

leads to the report of the successfull, community based HIV/AIDS treatment programm in Bulongwa/Makete.

Though the Programm saved the lives of many and was highly apprechiated by the local community, it was shut down and its staff was locked out without any given reason. Many patients were denied treatement for several days. After re-opening the clinic, treatment and prevention never reached the same quality of pre-lockout times. Subsequently, this costed many life years.

The obviously well planned move of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania - by itself violating the human rights of patients and community memebers - follwed the announcement of local community representatives and People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), who announced to protest against the theft of funds (several 100 Million Tanzanian Shillings) originally designated for the good use in Bulongwa Hospital, or for development- and spirtual work in Makete Diocese. Up to date nobody knows where this money went.

Following the distortion of the successful treatment programm - which also seems connected to procurement scandals in the Ministry of Health of Tanzania - probably many 100 patients died a preventable death. Lack of monitoring of treatment and side effects and - more importantly - the tremendous slow down in patients-uptake for the life saving Antiretroviral treatment contributed to that, as it probably did the severe psychological stress on the patients.

Several international studies can prove these statements form a general point of view and more importantly it can be proven by very recent data from the district.

Instead of protecting the innocent victims of corruption and the lives of the patients, several representatives from the Lutheran Church World-family, mainly from Tanzania and Germany went on blaming "foreing forces" trying to damage the Lutheran Church. At the same time and up to this day Church officers are going on to protect the thieves and/or responsible staff in their own ranks.

It might be worth noting, that the ELCT (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania) and also the presiding Lutheran Bishop of Germany were repeatedly presenting themselves as crusaders and moral authorities in the fight against graft all over the world.

The log in the eye of the Lutheran Church is costing the lives of many innocent humans, who did nothing else than getting up to demand their human right for treatment and the correct use of ressources, which were donated for the developent of their burdened community!

They came accross a church who betrayed them and is still unsing donor money and church ressources to spread rumors, giving out wrong statements and who obviously tries to silence the voice of the poor and the community.

The stories of the poor are frequently used as a reason to collect monies from small donors. These ressources are very often not reaching the poor or - even worse - are used to suppress them and to indirectly kill them.

Obvioulsy the donor agencies lack any kind of monitoring systems, benchmarks or any will to openly and transparently document success and/or failure of the use of ressources.