WCC NEWS: Regional platform launched to strengthen disability-inclusive sexual and reproductive health, rights across Africa

Faith leaders, government representatives, researchers, development partners, organizations of persons with disabilities, and health professionals from Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda have established a regional platform on disability-inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights to strengthen collaboration, knowledge sharing, research, and policy advocacy across East Africa. 24 June 2026 The platform was established during a regional scientific conference on “Breaking Barriers: Disability-Inclusive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Africa,” held in Dar es Salaam on 16–17 June. Despite growing recognition of the rights of persons with disabilities, women, men, and young people with disabilities continue to face significant barriers in accessing quality sexual and reproductive health information and services. "Disability-inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights is not merely a health issue. It is a human rights issue. It is a development issue. It is a gender equality issue. It is a justice issue. And ultimately, it is an issue of human dignity," said Anjeline Okola, programme coordinator of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network. The conference brought together governments, faith communities, researchers, health institutions, development partners, and organizations of persons with disabilities to share evidence, practical experiences, and innovations aimed at improving access to sexual and reproductive health services for persons with disabilities. Jane Kihugi, executive director of Women Challenged to Challenge in Kenya, reflected on the barriers that women with disabilities continue to face. "The problem is not our disability—it is the system that is not inclusive. When services are accessible and respectful, we are fully able to make decisions about our bodies and our lives," said Kihugi. Faith leaders at the conference affirmed the role of religious communities in promoting inclusion and addressing stigma. Sheikh Othman Mohamed Saleh, director of planning and administration at the Mufti's Office in Zanzibar, reflected on the role of faith communities in advancing dignity and participation. "Faith-based communities can challenge stigma, create safe spaces for dialogue, and remind us that every person belongs. They can help move communities away from pity or charity towards dignity, participation, and justice," he said. The gathering also highlighted the importance of partnerships in advancing disability-inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights. Tomi Lounio, manager and deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Finland in Tanzania, noted that sustainable progress requires collaboration across sectors and the leadership of persons with disabilities. "Disability-inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights cannot be advanced by one actor alone. It requires cooperation, listening, practical solutions and, above all, the leadership of persons with disabilities themselves," said Lounio. Participants committed to operationalizing the regional platform through regular knowledge-sharing forums, collaborative research, policy dialogue, joint advocacy, and the documentation of promising practices. The platform will also promote stronger partnerships among governments, academic institutions, faith communities, organizations of persons with disabilities, and development partners to accelerate disability-inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights programming across Africa. The conference was jointly organized by the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, Tanzania Federation of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission, and United Nations Population Fund Tanzania. See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC NEWS: WCC to share insights at Caritas health conference

Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme director for Life, Justice, and Peace, will participate in a conference, “A holistic approach to health in the Caritas Confederation.”  9 March 2022, Barabás, Hungary: Aid workers for Caritas Hungary load a van full of supplies at a Caritas Hungary support centre for incoming refugees in the small border crossing village of Barabás in northeast Hungary. Photo: Albin Hillert/LWF 24 June 2026 The event is being organized by Caritas and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Conference participants will reflect on the diverse health activities conducted at local, national, regional, and international levels, while showcasing existing work and best practices across the network. The conference will also focus on strengthening global partnerships, and fostering a shared understanding of Caritas Internationalis’ strategic relationships with regional and international bodies. Participants will identify critical research gaps and capacity-building needs to ensure interventions are evidence-based and sustainable. In his remarks and participation, Mtata will emphasize the WCC’s role as a bridge between global health systems and communities. He will also describe the WCC’s relationship with the Global Fund, UNAIDS, WHO, and others. Mtata will explore the deep community presence and legitimacy of faith-based actors. Faith communities are not peripheral actors—they are embedded systems of care and influence. The WCC participation will involve a high-level panel  on 24 June entitled “The Value of Partnership for Faith-Based Organizations in meeting today’s Global Health challenges.” During the panel, speakers will emphasize that faith communities and religious leaders are ready and willing to work alongside all partners to advance global health. The contribution of faith-based groups is not not only spiritual or moral—it is also technical, evidence-based, and operational. “The WCC’s Health and Healing programme focuses on three priorities: strengthening local congregations’ engagement in holistic health, advocating on global health policy issues, and supporting effective, high-quality service delivery through church-based health providers,” said Mtata. See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC News: From Malawi to the UK, churches demand fairer taxes now

G7 leaders met in Évian on 15–17 June, on the French shore of Lake Geneva, a few kilometres from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Ecumenical Centre. On two continents, churches were pressing the case those leaders left unfinished: how the world taxes wealth is a question of faith. From Malawian church councils demanding an end to harmful tax incentives to UK Christians challenging Amazon’s tax record, a movement the WCC has backed since its 2019 Zacchaeus Tax Campaign is turning conviction into organised pressure. Photo: Sean Hawkey/Life on Earth Pictures 23 June 2026 The summit noted the debt pressures facing developing countries and welcomed steps toward stronger international tax cooperation. But civil society organisations, thousands of whom protested across the lake in Geneva, said it still fell short on inequality and the outsized profits of large corporations. In Accra, the Malawi Council of Churches used a continental roundtable in May to call out what it described as an unjust tax system at home. Rev. Alemekezeke Chikondi Phiri, the council’s general secretary, pointed to outdated treaties such as the UK–Malawi double taxation agreement. He also highlighted tax incentives the council says cost Malawi some US$87 million a year – revenue that might otherwise fund healthcare and education. He cited the 15-year tax arrangement granted to the Australian mining company Paladin Energy as an example of a system that benefits a small elite while the poor struggle. "The tax system in Malawi is very unfair since wealthier individuals and large multinational corporations frequently utilize tax exemptions, incentives, and offshore structures to minimize their tax contributions. The church in Malawi will continue to fight for a just tax system and the protection of the poor," said Phiri. The gathering, a Continental Round Table on Ecological and Economic Justice Policy Advocacy, organised by the All Africa Conference of Churches and hosted by the Council of Churches in Ghana, drew church leaders from Malawi, Rwanda, Liberia, Ghana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, and beyond. The same conviction is taking a different shape in the United Kingdom. The JustMoney Movement has launched “Challenge Amazon: Break the Habit, Fix the Rules,” asking Christians both to reduce their reliance on the retailer and to press their government for fairer global tax rules, including reform through a UN Tax Convention. The campaign frames the choice as a collective one: millions of Christians and an estimated 40,000 churches across the UK, it argues, hold real economic influence in how they spend. “The global economy is broken. It’s driving inequality, environmental damage, and concentrating wealth in the hands of a few. The money we spend too often goes to large companies like Amazon that make excessive untaxed profits at the expense of local communities, low-paid workers, and the environment. Our Challenge Amazon campaign urges Christians to use their spending power to advocate for change, and to call for fairer global tax rules that address profit shifting, strengthen transparency, and ensure all countries can raise the revenue they need,” said Rosie Venner, director of movement building at the JustMoney Movement. Both campaigns draw on a framework the WCC helped build as part of the ecumenical New International Financial and Economic Architecture initiative. Launched at the United Nations in 2019, the Zacchaeus Tax Campaign, named for the tax collector who repaid fourfold what he had taken, calls for progressive wealth taxes, an end to corporate tax avoidance, and reparation for social and ecological debts. “Taxation is an important tool for sharing wealth equitably within and across countries,” the project’s concept note states. That work now runs alongside the WCC “Turn Debt into Hope” campaign, which links debt cancellation with climate justice. Athena Peralta, director of the WCC Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development, framed the stakes when the tax campaign launched: tax justice, she said, is “an important and practical means of tackling inequality . . . and making reparation for the legacies of slavery and ecological devastation, especially climate change-related loss and damage.” For these churches, the G7’s unfinished business is theirs to keep pressing. JustMoney Movement: Challenge Amazon  New International Financial and Economic Architecture (NIFEA) Zacchaeus Tax Campaign  Turn Debt into Hope  G7 Leaders’ Joint Statements, Évian (16–17 June 2026)  See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC news: WCC expresses great concern over plans for another Israeli settlement in West Bank

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed grave concern at plans and initiatives for the development of yet another Israeli settlement in the West Bank, in the Ush Ghurab area, next to Beit Sahour.  Photo; Albion Hillert/WCC “This development would further isolate Beit Sahour, accelerate the confiscation of Palestinian land, and threaten the future presence of one of the oldest and largest remaining Christian communities in the Holy Land,” he said. “It is part of an all too familiar story, of illegal settlements subsequently being officially recognized by the Israeli authorities and expanded, dispossessing Palestinians of their lands and rights, deepening the illegal occupation and settler violence and harassment, and undermining the future of Palestinian communities – including Palestinian Christians – in areas controlled by Israel.” Pillay called for this settlement project to be halted immediately. “We appeal to the Israeli authorities, responsible governments, and international institutions to act in accordance with international law, and to prevent this looming threat to the Indigenous Christian presence in the land of Christ’s birth, ministry, death, and resurrection,” he said. Read the full statement add here See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC News: WCC expresses deep concern over EU restrictions on protections for migrants and refugees

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed deep concern and lament following a recent vote in the European Union that further restricts protections for migrants and refugees.  Refugee families from Ukraine walk through the Vyšné Nemecké border crossing between Slovakia and Ukraine. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, hundreds of thousands of refugees have crossed the border to Slovakia in search of refuge and shelter from war and an increasingly desperate humanitarian situation. Photo: Albin Hillert/Life on Earth 22 June 2026   “The timing of this decision – which coincides with the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention – adds a painful layer of irony to what should have been a moment of renewed commitment to international solidarity and human dignity,” said Pillay. “The 1951 Refugee Convention was born out of the humanitarian and moral crisis of mass displacement following the Second World War.” It enshrined a simple but profound principle: that every human being, regardless of origin, deserves protection when fleeing persecution and danger.  “Any erosion of this commitment weakens not only legal frameworks but the moral architecture of our shared humanity,” said Pillay. “The biblical witness consistently links the treatment of the stranger, the widow, and the orphan with the integrity of a just society.” Pillay called upon the European Union and its member states to reaffirm their commitment to the protection of refugees and migrants, to uphold international legal standards, and to resist political narratives that trade in fear and division. “We further urge churches across Europe and beyond to remain steadfast voices of conscience, to accompany migrants and refugees in practical solidarity, and to advocate for policies rooted in human dignity rather than exclusion,” he said. “At this critical moment, the measure of integrity of our societies will not be found in how effectively we exclude the vulnerable, but in how faithfully we protect them.” World Council of Churches Statement on the recent European Union vote concerning migrants and refugees WCC joins faith-based statement for World Refugee Day, 75th anniversary of Refugee Convention (WCC news release, 22 June 2026) See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland