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WCC reaffirms water justice concern at UN talks on SDGs

Some 6-7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are reviewed every year through a United Nations (UN) mechanism called the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). The 2018 HLPF is taking place at the UN headquarters in New York, 9-18 July.

Seven Weeks for Water 2018, week 6: "The open taps in Latin America", by Prof. Dr Jerónimo Granados

The sixth reflection of the of the "Seven Weeks for Water", of World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Water Network, is by Prof. Dr Jerónimo Granados, an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Church of Río de La Plata. The following reflection recognises the promise of living water, the water that quenches the thirst of the world for Jesus Christ. However, he underscores the importance of the clean water to run through taps of people of Latin America which is vital for a dignified life. He also draws inspiration from the “Pachamama” of the native people of this region to respect and protect our waters.

WCC Programmes

Re-engineering life forms: Church forum raises concerns

“What do we have the right to manipulate in creation?” The question is at the heart of a Canadian Quaker’s commitment to the process of encouraging member churches of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to reflect on scientific experiments in modifying life forms known as “synthetic biology”.

Responsible agriculture investments theme of WCC session

Promoting responsible agricultural investments was the theme of a session organised by the WCC at the Civil Society Policy Forum of the World Bank Group-International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings held in Washington DC from 9-13 October. “There is no doubt we need to invest more in agriculture – it feeds us all and remains an important source of employment, especially for the world’s poor,” said Athena Peralta, WCC programme executive for economic and ecological justice.

“Water means life,” says German advocate for sustainability

Andrea Müller-Frank works as the Right to Food officer at the Policy Department of the German Bread for the World. Since December 2016 she has been co-chair of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN), which fights for water justice worldwide.

Seven Weeks for Water 2017, week 7: "Blue Community: Churches response to the right to water", by Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri

The final reflection of the Lenten Campaign: Seven Weeks for Water 2017 of the Word Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is by Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri.  Dr Phiri is the deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and responsible for WCC’s work on Public Witness and Diakonia. A Malawian by nationality, Apawo Phiri was a professor of African theology, dean and head of the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, and director of the Centre for Constructive Theology at the University of KwaZulu Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.  In this reflection she explains the concept of a ‘blue community’ and points out why the bottled water industry is an impediment to the human right to water. She then takes us through the journey of the WCC into becoming a blue community through one of its ecumenical initiatives, the EWN.

WCC Programmes

Seven Weeks for Water 2017, week 5: "Normative content on human right to water in Africa", by Dr Rogate Mshana

The 5th reflection of the Lenten Campaign: Seven Weeks for Water 2017 of the Word Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is by  Dr Rogate Mshana. Dr Mshana, a renowned economist is a former staff member of World Council of Churches responsible for its programme on Poverty, Wealth and Ecology, later known as the Economy of Life. He is currently working as a consultant on Economic Justice for the Council for World Mission and based in his home country, Tanzania. In the following reflection, he deals with the 5 normative contents of human rights framework on water in the context of Africa. He further relates water as a key element to achieve food security, health security and gender justice.

WCC Programmes

Seven Weeks for Water 2017, week 3: "Nexus between water and food security", by Rev. O. Kolade Fadahunsi

The 3rd reflection of the Lenten Campaign: Seven Weeks for Water 2017 of the Word Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is by Rev. O. Kolade Fadahunsi. Rev. Kolade is the Executive Director of Nigeria’s Kairos Foundation. He is also the programme associate for the national food security project of the Christian Council of Nigeria.  In the following reflection he underlines the inter-dependency of water and food security, given that 70 per cent of fresh water is used for food production and one third of food produced goes to waste.

WCC Programmes

New license could improve tuberculosis treatment for people living with HIV

The World Council of Churches - Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance applauds the first licensing agreement related to tuberculosis, announced on 25 January by the Medicines Patent Pool and Johns Hopkins University. The agreement will facilitate the clinical development of sutezolid, a tuberculosis drug candidate. The antibiotic sutezolid, in combination with other drugs, could be used to more effectively treat drug-sensitive and drug-resistant tuberculosis.

WCC offers food for thought as “Food Week” approaches

“Rejoice and share the sacred gift of food with all.” That’s just one of the “Ten Commandments of Food” proposed by WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit as he called upon people to change their behavior and take action in both small and large ways.

WCC conference explores ecological injustice in Uganda

“Science and religion can provide solutions to poverty and injustice.” This was the theme of the 3rd International Conference on Sustainable Alternatives for Poverty Reduction and Ecological Justice (SAPREJ) in Kampala, Uganda, on 4-7 April. The conference was organized by the Kyambogo University and the WCC economic and ecological justice programme.

Tveit on the “Ten Commandments” of food

A 21 January World Economic Forum session on how food choices can become a catalyst for positive change became an opportunity for World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit to present “Ten Commandments” of food to the gathered business and political leaders.

COP21: how climate change affects access to our daily bread

Climate change poses serious environmental challenges to meet current and future demands for food. The poorest communities, having the smallest carbon footprint on the planet, are facing the greatest impact of climate change. For many years, the right to food has been a key issue and priority for many parties, churches and ecumenical delegations involved in climate talks.

Patent agreement welcomed as step to improve HIV treatment

As we mark World AIDS Day 2015, the World Council of Churches-Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (WCC-EAA) welcomes a license agreement between the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) for daclatasvir, an important direct acting antiviral that is proven to help cure multiple genotypes of the hepatitis C virus (HCV).