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Getting more people tested and treated for HIV, caring for the sick, helping people understand how to care for themselves —these are the tasks of faith-based organizations (FBOs) helping people with HIV in local communities.

The World Council of Churches – Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (WCC-EAA) welcomes the 25 April announcement by the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and ViiV Healthcare of the geographic extension of their licensing agreement for dolutegravir (DTG) to cover all remaining lower middle-income countries (LMICs). The amendment to the 2014 licence specifically allows generic medicine distribution in four countries with patents – Armenia, Moldova, Morocco and Ukraine – that were not covered in the initial agreement. Dolutegravir is a promising new treatment that was included in the latest WHO guidelines as first- and third-line treatment.

As the El Nino weather pattern challenges southern Africa, what is the role of churches in helping people realize their right to food and livelihood?

“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.

Faith-based organizations presented significant input at a 6 April United Nations civil society hearing in New York City, a prelude to a UN High Level Meeting on HIV in New York on 8-10 June.

World Health Day, 7 April, is focusing this year on diabetes. The World Health Organization has released its first Global Report on Diabetes, which reveals that the number of adults living with diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1980 to 422 million, or 8.5% of the world’s adult population.

“An ecological reformation of Christianity is a matter of repentance, conversion and renewal for all Christian traditions,” reads the “Volos Call,” a statement issued after a meeting of church representatives from different traditions and all continents, held in Greece, between 10-13 March.

Religious leaders and faith-based organizations are sending representatives this week to a United Nations civil society hearing in New York City, a prelude to a UN High Level Meeting on HIV in New York on 8-10 June.

Almost forty years after the advent of HIV and AIDS, people around the world living with HIV still endure assaults on their dignity and basic human rights—from stigma and discrimination to denial of legal protection and even medical care.

Ecotheology, Climate Justice and Food Security was the focus for lively discussion at a consultation event hosted by the Volos Academy for Theological Studies, in Greece on 10-13 March.

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.

With simple, compelling messages, leaders and friends of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance are featured in a new five-minute video offering an overview of the EAA’s work and the serious global need for advocacy related to HIV and AIDS and food security.

The World Council of Churches-Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance welcomes an agreement between the Medicines Patent Pool, the Government of South Africa and Abbvie, a research-based biopharmaceutical company, to work together to overcome supply challenges relating to second-line HIV and AIDS treatments lopinavir and ritonavir (LPV/r) in South Africa.

As the 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change came to a close in Paris, a consultation organized by the National Council of Churches in the Philippines and the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance of the WCC on 11 December in Quezon City, Philippines considered “The Right to Food and Life in the Context of Climate Change.”

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.

Some 40 individuals from churches, faith-based groups, community-based organizations, academia and the government will gather in the Philippines on 11 December for a consultation entitled The Right to Food and Life in the Context of Climate Change.

Climate-induced loss and damage is one of the key points being raised by faith groups during COP21. A discussion panel and a demonstration held at COP21 in early December brought to light many facets of this issue.

Over 20 faith leaders, with youth, political and civil society representatives sat down for a unique lunch at COP21 at a table with knives and forks but no food, in a public demonstration of their hunger for climate justice. The stunt was part of the Fast for the Climate initiatives on December 1st in Paris.

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).

International humanitarian and development faith based networks have urged governments preparing for next week's COP21 United Nations climate summit in Paris to do their outmost to reach a fair, binding, and ambitious agreement as vulnerable people continue their daily struggle to adapt to the increasing adverse effects of climate change.