The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are celebrating 50 years of collaboration. Their work together includes strategizing, publications, seminars, webinars, and responding to crises such as HIV, the Ebola outbreak, and COVID-19 pandemic.
Moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development Archbishop Rev. Julio Murray Thompson, in a WCC video interview, reflects on the challenges the commission is facing, how it will build partnerships, and ways in which it will involve young people.
A three-day training on “HIV Self-Stigma and Life-building Skills for Vulnerable Communities,” held in Nigeria, helped equip faith leaders to respond to the challenges of HIV among young people.
A panel discussion during the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science in Brisbane, Australia, explored “Leadership, communication, and science: A three-dimensional pandemic response?” The panel was part of the closing ceremony held 26 July.
The stories that imprint and accompany us the most are not necessarily the ones spoken most eloquently or from an orator’s elaborate formulations, but every so often those emanating out of the mouths of babes.
Below, Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches (WCC) director of Public Witness and Diakonia, reflects on the relevance of ecumenical diakonia and public witness today.
We mark 4 March as World Obesity Day. Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a health risk. Obesity has more than tripled since 1975, and more than 1 billion people are obese in the world today.
The HIV response has more than forty years now; timely and accessible medications are effective and ensure long healthy lives for people living with HIV. We have more prevention tools and strategies, we know much more about the virus, there are many organizations and websites with dedicated information; yet, HIV stigma persists in deep thinking, having serious consequences for the 38 million people living with HIV across the world.
As we come closer to the 16 Days of Activism, which begins on 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women), includes 1 December (International Day dedicated to raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died), and runs through 10 December (International Human Rights Day), I write this open letter to policymakers, faith leaders, and all stakeholders interested in the lives of women and girls.
As a severe drought triggered a humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, churches and several humanitarian organizations there urged foreign debt suspension to enable the countries to tackle the catastrophe.
Gracia Ross, World Council of Churches programme executive for Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy, sees herself as a bridge between communities living with HIV and churches.
As Loyce Maturu shared her story of growing up in Zimbabwe at an interfaith breakfast in New York City on 22 September, she held herself up as an example that faith communities really can make a difference for children who have HIV.
A consultation for theological institutions in Uganda, held 12-15 September, harnessed the contribution of theological institutions in promoting gender equity in the context of HIV and sexual and gender-based violence.
At a workshop held at the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly, participants expressed grave concerns over the fact that, although public health experts warned about the dangers of ignoring other epidemiological efforts at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries had to reshuffle critical medical resources, thereby preventing routine treatment of HIV.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) had a pivotal place at a conference organized by the Foundation Dialogue for Peace in Geneva, drawing international speakers that would gladden the organizers of any world gathering as they interlinked trying to feed and heal people and get peace during war.
On World Food Safety Day, clerics and farmers in Kenya reflected about aflatoxin—a group of poisons found in maize and peanuts—that continue to cause deaths and related diseases in the East African country.
In drought-stricken regions in eastern Africa, churches and church congregations continue to pray for rain, as the weather conditions leave millions of people without food, water and pasture for their animals.
As the war in Ukraine triggers an unexpected rise in food and commodity prices in African markets, church leaders are reaching out to communities struggling with food insecurity and shortages.