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South Sudanese Church leaders are appealing for urgent humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of their population, who have been left vulnerable by a mix of five crises, including floods and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Council of Churches is publishing a series of interviews that portray insights and reflections from the leaders of faith-based global and regional humanitarian and development organizations. Rudelmar Bueno de Faria is general secretary of ACT Alliance, which has secretariats in Switzerland, Jordan, Thailand, El Salvador, Kenya, Canada and New York. In addition, the ACT Alliance Advocacy office to the EU is based in Brussels, Belgium.

The World Council of Churches is publishing a series of interviews that portray insights and re-flections from the leaders of faith-based global and regional humanitarian and development or-ganizations. Amanda Khozi Mukwashi is CEO of Christian Aid, which is based in the UK.

As South Sudan joined the world in celebrating the International Day of Peace, the country’s church leaders urged speedy implementation of a key peace pact known as the Revitalised - Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan.

During a webinar on the many effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Church of Norway fielded reflections from pastors and church leaders in diverse corners of the world. The presentation is part of a new webinar series, produced by Rev. Dr Einar Tjelle, on the local and global realities of COVID-19. Tjelle is head of Ecumenism & Interfaith Dialogue for the Church of Norway and the Council on Ecumenical &International Relations.

The fatal blast in Beirut last month became yet another blow to an already plagued country. In recent months, a financial crisis with a free-falling currency and rising unemployment has further undermined the Lebanese economy. Add to that one million Syrian refugees and the COVID-19 pandemic, and the contours of a fragile nation facing monumental challenges emerge.

George Ziadeh is CEO of the Compassion Protestant Society, which has started a fundraising campaign, “Beirut Hope,” to help the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the explosion in the port of Beirut on 4 August. The interview below is excerpted from an original interview of Ziadeh produced by the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, that joined the appeal for donations for the victims of the explosion in the port of Beirut.

In the wake of a tragic explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, the World Council of Churches (WCC) sent condolences and called for prayers for those who lost loves ones, for the injured, and for the ongoing work of the rescue teams.

African Church leaders are highlighting the need to tame the continent’s persistent post-harvest losses, as organizations point at rising food insecurity due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The National Council of Churches (USA) has joined with other humanitarian and human rights organizations in writing the US Congress to urge that obstacles keeping nongovernmental organizations from addressing the “devastating potential for COVID-19’s spread” within the nation of North Korea be removed.

In a letter to the South Sudan Council of Churches and member churches in South Sudan, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit conveyed the WCC’s great relief and gratitude to God that the long-delayed establishment of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity in South Sudan was finally achieved on 22 February.

Some church leaders and faith-based relief agencies are concerned that the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic may adversely affect humanitarian aid response, as the disease spreads in some of the vulnerable regions worldwide.
Although disruptions have not been felt yet, according to officials, there is a great potential the negative impacts will emerge, as the cases rise even in conflict countries, where the faith-based humanitarian agencies are the only movers of aid.

Recent calls for increased action against hunger by church leaders, faith-based humanitarian agencies and development leaders are finding significance as a new report warns of serious levels of under-nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa.

Following a deal reached between the European Union and Turkey in March 2016, Turkey has been taking measures to prevent migrants – many of them fleeing the conflict in Syria – from reaching the EU, in exchange for European aid for migrants and refugees, and for relaxation of EU visa requirements for Turkish citizens. On Friday 28 February, after military losses in north-west Syria – where Turkey has been trying to create a safe area to resettle millions of Syrian refugees and to serve Turkish interests against the Kurds – those measures were suspended, resulting in large numbers of people attempting to cross into Greece and consequent clashes with Greek security forces.