WCC News: Global faith voices unite for debt justice during World Economic Forum

Faith leaders and activists from across the globe united on 21 January 2026 to demand systemic change, as crushing debts and climate crisis trap 3.4 billion people in countries that spend more on debt repayments than on climate response and essential public services. The interfaith liturgy on global inequality, held in-person in Nairobi and online as the World Economic Forum opened, brought together voices from Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nepal, and other countries calling for debt cancellation and climate justice. Nigerian group gathered for the online prayer during the World Economic Forum Photo: World Council of Churches 22 January 2026 The liturgy happened during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the season commemorating Rev. Dr Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy. Speaking from Atlanta, Georgia, World Council of Churches (WCC) president from North America-Turtle Island Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith delivered the reflection. She proclaimed Jubilee for people and planet, linking debt relief directly to climate action and food security. "The climate emergency, together with widening inequalities, demands such a reset. The socio-economic and ecological costs of the global debt crisis can no longer be ignored," Walker-Smith said. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development figures show 3.4 billion people live in countries spending more on debt repayments than on the climate emergency and essential public services. Those crushing obligations prevent governments from investing in healthcare, education, food security, or climate adaptation, Walker-Smith noted. Frequent climate disasters now drive up loss and damage, she warned, forcing climate-vulnerable countries to borrow even more for recovery and reconstruction. "This creates a vicious cycle of debt and dependency that undermines climate resilience and sustainable development." Online participants of the interfaith liturgy on global inequality Drawing on Leviticus 25:10, Walker-Smith called for "a structural reboot—a periodic overcoming of systemic injustice and poverty, and the restoration of right relationships." She invoked Rev. Dr Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1967 speech at Riverside Church: "When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered." The liturgy featured testimonies from communities experiencing debt and climate impacts. Participants shared how debt burdens block access to healthcare, education, clean water, and food. The WCC organised the liturgy with All Africa Conference of Churches, Caritas Internationalis, Christian Aid, Fight Inequality Alliance, Jubilee USA, and partners in the ecumenical New International Financial and Economic Architecture initiative as well as We the 99 movement. It concluded with demands for transformation: tax the wealthy, cancel illegitimate debts, enforce corporate accountability, and invest in climate justice. Learn more about the Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action ZacTax Campaign Turn Debt into Hope Campaign New International Financial and Economic Architecture (NIFEA) 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