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“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.

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.

More than 140 people met online in a spontaneous “Gathering in Grief” to mourn Rev. Phumzile Mabizela, who passed away the morning of on 5 July. Mabizela was the executive director of INERELA+ (the International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV), co-moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance HIV Campaign Strategy Group and a member of the International Reference Group of WCC Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy.

The Religious Forum Against COVID-19 in South Africa issued a statement with faith leaders standing in solidarity in response to COVID-19, and with a broader objective of collaborating in making for a safer South African environment.

The World Council of churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy program, in partnership with Pole Institute, hosted a UNAIDS-PEPFAR Faith Initiative consultation on HIV risks and vulnerabilities among migrants, displaced people and refugees in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Religious leaders in South Africa signed a letter on behalf of The People’s Vaccine Campaign Of South Africa that urges the US medical team leading the COVID-19 pandemic response to address the global vaccine shortage, and urges the US government to take specific actions.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the passing away of Hendrew Lusey-Gekawaku on 13 October 2020. He was a registered nurse, public health practitioner and ecumenist who contributed enormously to ecumenical and interfaith HIV and AIDS responses.

South African church leaders heard that corruption in their country kills when they organized for a campaign against the latest version of pillaging during the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.

On 15 September, the South African Council of Churches will stand in silent prayer in all nine provinces to declare that “Corruption is Not Our Heritage.”

After hearing about death threats against Nobel laureate Dr Denis Mukwege, physician director of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Council of Churches (WCC) urged UN officials to call upon the government to ensure the protection of the life of Mukwege.

The South African Council of Churches released guidelines for member churches as they prepare for the COVID readiness of their congregations.

Using lessons learned from building health-competent faith communities and responding to the HIV and AIDS epidemic, African church leaders are doing their best to help their communities cope with the novel coronavirus.

Africa is of huge concern around the novel coronavirus pandemic for the World Health Organization (WHO), but the continent’s churches have been preparing for the silent and lethal virus for some time.

Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen is general secretary of the Conference of European Churches. On 26 March, the WCC and Regional Ecumenical Organizations released a historic joint pastoral statement affirming the urgency of standing together to protect life amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The WCC has since been gathering viewpoints from diverse regions about the importance of taking care of our one human family.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) was represented at a gathering of more than 40 organizations from across Europe involved in the Blue Community initiative. Blue Communities, a concept founded by the Council of Canadians and the Blue Planet Project, recognize water and sanitation as human rights, promote public control over water resources and ban or phase out the sale of bottled water in public facilities and at events.

With both creativity and dedication, a group of diverse theologians from across southern Africa have developed tools that will strengthen advocacy for women’s sexual and reproductive health.