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After learning about the link between HIV and sexual and gender-based violence, the Rev. Neila Ingram said what was on the minds of many women religious leaders: “So now I have work to go and do in my community and church.”

On 17-23 November, the Executive Committee of the WCC met for the first time ever in China. The visit was hosted by the China Christian Council and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. The Three-Self Patriotic Movement is a Protestant church in the People's Republic of China, as well as one of the largest Protestant bodies in the world.

“Is there a way we can address stigma and discrimination among faith communities, to set an example, so that those who are there to provide services, to give care, do not themselves stigmatize? Because when it comes to HIV and AIDS, it doesn’t matter if we are Christians or Muslims, women or men. With HIV and AIDS, we need to deal with it as human beings.”

At a consultation on religion and development on 28 September, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit shared thoughts on an emerging global religion and development agenda. The meeting was convened by the ACT Alliance. Tveit and other participants shared their thoughts on how faith-based and humanitarian groups can work together to help reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Rwanda’s capital city Kigali was festooned with blue and white decorations on 31 July as the Anglican Church of Rwanda Mothers Union celebrated a 50th jubilee. Joyous singing and dancing poured forth from a ceremony at the Anglican Kibagabaga Parish.

The 21st International AIDS Conference, which concluded July 22, had its normal dose of science speak, with seminars and workshops ranging from new vaccine trials to the testing of a vaginal ring that appears to dramatically lower the risk of HIV infection in women.

Thirty-five years into the response to HIV and AIDS, it remains a disease that not only thrives on, but exploits the lines of exclusion and inequality in society. In the Philippines, where there has been an alarming increase in people testing positive for HIV, the country’s National Council of Churches recognized that more than words were needed. While dialogue and debate were important, they needed to translate into action, given the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor in Filipino society, and a faith-based and societal milieu still dominated by a sex-negative theology.

“Prophet, people and a plan.” That’s what faith-based organizations (FBOs) need to ensure nobody living with HIV is left behind, said Jesse Milan, past board chair of the Black AIDS Institute. He was speaking as part of a panel group at the Faith on the Fast Track AIDS2016 Pre-Conference.

Despite huge progress since AIDS was first identified 35 years ago, the threat of AIDS still haunts much of the world. 21 million people currently have no access to treatment of HIV, and AIDS-related illnesses are now the leading cause of death for adolescents in Africa. More than 2 million people are newly infected annually. The world is facing the catastrophe of 6 million AIDS-related orphans, and this figure is growing.

As participants in a workshop on HIV offered their personal reflections, they shared how their hearts have been deepened and changed by a dialogue facilitated by the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP).

“I came here to know the difference between HIV and AIDS, and to distinguish the role of women, especially women pastors, in educating, empowering, and enlightening people in her flock about their view on HIV,” said Rev. Mary Ann Kadile, a pastor from the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. She traveled from Mindanao to San Pablo City, Laguna to participate in a workshop on HIV led by the National Council of Churches in the Philippines.

Sexual and reproductive health services must be not just "youth-friendly" but also “male- and female-friendly" and "youth participatory" so that young men and women gain access to the information and services they need and want, agreed adolescents who attended a workshop in Lomé, Togo on 24-25 March.

Following the WCC/UN High Level Conference on the Refugee Crisis in Europe, which took place at the Ecumenical Centre Geneva on 18-19 January, a statement has been issued entitled "Europe’s Response to the Refuge Crisis, From Origin to Transit, Reception and Refuge, A Call for Shared Responsibility and Coordinated Action”.

When 505 percent more girls than boys get infected with HIV, the virus that is in its fourth decade can, indeed, be said to wear a woman’s face.

A declaration emphasizing the need for greater convergence in the struggles for justice and rights of communities, particularly for land, water, forests, natural resources, livelihood and identity, was the outcome of a meeting in Nepal, involving civil society organizations and social movements.

Focusing on issues related to sexuality, gender based violence and HIV and AIDS, leaders from African churches and civil society organizations engaged in lively discussions at a WCC workshop in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

A WCC group concluded a three-day meeting by acknowledging achievements that have been made in addressing HIV and AIDS.

”Truly, I am in the household of God,” began WCC associate general secretary for public witness and diakonia Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri in her keynote speech today at the 14th Assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia.

Dr Fulata Mbano-Moyo, the WCC programme executive for Women in Church and Society, called on the movement of Christian students to reclaim its radical transforming nature towards a “pilgrimage of gender justice”.

In Africa, where up to 40 percent of the health care facilities are provided by faith based organizations, Dr Mirfin Mpundu, executive director of the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network, says that due to their unique position churches can play a special role in eliminating HIV and AIDS and bringing improvements in the lives of people living with the virus.