All Africa Conference of Churches and Health Concerns in Africa
摘要
Since precolonial times, Africa has faced various challenges that undermine its people’s holistic health and well-being. In the more recent past, Africa has had to contend with various existential threats. Pandemics like HIV and AIDS, COVID-19, Ebola, and GBV are among those that have severely bruised the continent since the last century and in many ways barred its holistic development. Aspiration 1 of Agenda 2063, the blueprint of Africa’s sustainable development, envisions “a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development.” This ambition can only be realized by promoting the health and well-being of people of all ages (United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3) in Africa. Given Africa’s religiosity, faith-based organizations are widely accepted and acknowledged as major contributors to building an Africa where the first aspiration of Agenda 2063 and the SDG 3 is a reality. One of Africa’s major religious organizations with a key role in promoting health and healing is the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), founded in 1963, with the vision of uniting African churches for life, justice, peace, and dignity. This chapter describes AACC’s role in promoting health and healing in Africa since its 50th anniversary celebrations in 2013.