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Photo:Albin Hillert/WCC

Photo:Albin Hillert/WCC

At the first-ever World Health Organization Africa Health Forum in Kigali, Rwanda on 27–28 June, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its partners submitted a message urging the forum not to overlook the vital role of the church in the arena of healthcare in Africa.

The message was submitted on behalf of the WCC in conjunction with All Africa Conference of Churches, Africa Christian Health Associations Platform and Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network.

The message notes that currently there are Christian health associations or some organized Christian health network in 26 African countries, providing from 30% to over 50% of healthcare and training up to 70% of health workers.

“We thus regret to note the absence of our constituency in this forum and hope that next time we will be meaningfully engaged so that this forum is indeed all-inclusive,” the message reads. “Health is more than medicine. It is to do with the way people live and the way they die, the quality of life and the quality of death.”

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