WCC NEWS: Dialogue will focus on tackling antimicrobial resistance

A dialogue on 3 February hosted by the World Council of Churches at the Ecumenical Centre and online will focus on tackling antimicrobial resistance, and the contributions of faith-based organizations in this area. A policy brief will be released on antimicrobial resistance, one of the most pressing global health and development challenges, directly responsible for over one million deaths annually and associated with nearly five million deaths worldwide. Medicines, including antiretroviral drugs, before being administered to patients living in the "House for the Dying", a hospice for AIDS patients and other terminally ill patients run by the Sisters of Charity in Port au Prince, Haiti. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/Life on Earth 27 January 2026 In Africa, health system weaknesses, inadequate infection prevention and control, inequitable access to quality-assured medicines, inappropriate antimicrobial use, limited surveillance capacity, and insufficient and fragmented financing for responses exacerbate the crisis. In many African countries, faith-based organizations provide between 40-60 percent of health services, often serving remote, underserved, and marginalized populations where state services are limited or absent. The policy brief will highlight the critical but underutilized role of faith-based organizations in antimicrobial resistance mitigation in Africa; and will present concrete case studies of faith-based organizations’ engagement in community advocacy, antimicrobial stewardship, supply chains, and maternal and child health. The policy brief will also provide evidence-based recommendations for systematically integrating faith-based organizations into national, regional, and global responses. Co-organizers include ReAct Africa, the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network, and the African Christian Health Associations Platform. Learn more Register 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