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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 Mothers Union from the Church of Uganda (Buganda region) in collaboration with the World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy and Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance programmes have been finding strength and inspiration during the 16 Days campaign against sexual and gender-based violence. 

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.

At an online roundtable hosted by the All Africa Conference of Churches, male “champions for gender justice” shared their ideas and insights during their yearlong service as men who are helping to prevent gender-based violence.

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 are participating in online training on male engagement in Zimbabwe, 12-16 July. The participants are drawn from diverse faith communities and will come up with action plans to enhance their work with boys and men.

The ecumenical staff gathered with people from Zimbabwe and Botswana on 14 June for a morning prayer and song that focused on the church as a place of refuge and trust.

Religious leaders in Uganda pledged to renew their commitment to the national struggle to end HIV and AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, end all forms of stigma, promote justice, model transformative masculinities and transformative femininities, and ensure that respect for human rights is at the center of responses to HIV and AIDS.

“When the music changes, so must the dance,” counselled Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, World Council of Churches (WCC) deputy general secretary at the Africa Association of United Methodist Theological Institutions Anglophone Group virtual conference on 9-10 April. Phiri gave a keynote address at the conference organized by Africa University, a Methodist-affiliated university in Zimbabwe.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is remembering the life of Patrick Matsikenyiri, whose career included virtually all aspects of church music—singing, choral directing, composition, hymnal editor, festival leader, professor, and enlivener of global songs in venues around the world.

Online training for church leaders in Zimbabwe is helping them find creative, positive theologies to navigate the many challenging facets of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stories from Uganda are underscoring the resilience and hope that churches and education can bring in the face of stigma. Programmes developed by the World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy have helped people eliminate stigma associated with HIV and AIDS by providing accurate information; safe spaces in which to share; and a faith-based, science-backed approach to health and healing.

During a ceremony recognizing how young people in Uganda are true “agents of change” in health and healing, Rev. Pauline Njiru, eastern Africa regional coordinator for the World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV & AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme, said young people are bringing a fresh drive for justice in many local communities.

During a workshop on 29 June-1 July, Pastor Maxwell Kapachawo summed up the inspiration driving the group: “This training has come at the right time! We are facing the challenge of people on antiretroviral therapy defaulting on their medication due to faith healing claims.”