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During a visit to Angola held 21-28 January, World Council of Churches (WCC) staff met with local church and community leaders to discuss how preventing obstetric fistula is a matter of human rights.

From 4 to 9 December 2023, thousands of people convened in Harare, Zimbabwe, for the 22nd International Conference on Aids and STIs in Africa (ICASA). Scientists, medical experts, advocates, people living with HIV, and civil society organizations came together under the theme “AIDS IS NOT OVER: Address inequalities; accelerate inclusion and innovation.” Participants from many faith traditions were a meaningful part of many of these representative groups but also took up a space of their own.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) joined Caritas Internationalis, ACT Alliance, World Evangelical Alliance, and Lutheran World Federation in signing a joint letter to USAID administrator Samantha Power expressing concern over the suspension of food aid in Ethiopia.

“Tax justice is a matter of faith,” said Suzanne Matale. “By faith, [all] are entitled to abundant life. Ordinary people have a right to know and to participate in decision-making tables that affect our own God-given dignity.”

A global call for prayers and support for the Democratic Republic of Congo has amplified as floods and landslides left hundreds of people dead in South Kivu, a province in the east of the country.

Church leaders in Rwanda are mourning the death of 130 people after massive floods struck several districts in the tiny East African country.

A capacity building seminar held in Nairobi on 17-21 April focused on leadership, diakonia, and development for churches in Africa.

During the debate on human rights and obstetric fistula at the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, the World Council of Churches (WCC) with its ecumenical partners called upon governments to pay more attention to the prevention of obstetric fistula in their policies, strategic plans, and budgets.

Sanctions should not harm the support for the most vulnerable, says a report on the impact of sanctions on humanitarian work presented at a side-event of 52nd session at the Human Rights Council of the United Nations in Geneva on 10 March.

Visiting Madagascar in partnership with the Catholic Spiritan brotherhood and the non-government organization Geneva for Human Rights last week, the World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation explored how the resources shared better equip churches to help women suffering from obstetric fistula – condition which impacts millions of women around the world, particularly in sub-saharan Africa.

As a crowd of more than 300 gathered, the St Paul’s University School of Theology officially launched Thursdays in Black, pledging to build an Africa without violence and to join together on a pilgrimage of justice, peace, and reconciliation.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) offered a workshop on health and healing at the All Africa Youth Congress being held in Accra, Ghana under the theme “Africa: My Home. My Future.”

Prof. Ezra Chitando, World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy regional coordinator for Southern Africa, presented on behalf of WCC deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, a paper on “Women’s Transformative Leadership and Africa’s Holistic Development: The Role of the Churches” during an international conference on leadership transformation and innovation in Africa.

Two World Council of Churches (WCC) HIV initiatives met to review and celebrate the critical and life-changing work of the initiatives and to continue planning for a strengthened WCC HIV response in the new WCC Commission of the Churches on Health and Healing.

A Toolkit on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for religious leaders, developed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in collaboration with INERELA+ and UNESCO, was launched during an event on 19 November.

Religious and traditional leaders in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) participated in online consultations on the SADC Model Law on gender-based violence.

Religious leaders in Tanzania, after attending a workshop on HIV, stigma, treatment adherence and faith healing, released a communique that urges further empowering of religious leaders with skills and information to combat HIV.