Crises
The Ecumenical Advocacy Days are back virtually in 2021 advocating for Climate Justice! This years is Imagine! God’s Earth and People Restored. EAD 2021 is an opportunity to support this global movement centered on and led by the people and communities most vulnerable to climate impacts due to historic racial and colonial inequities. Together, we will passionately advocate and reimagine a world that lives out the values of justice, equity and the beloved community.
As an advocacy organization, we are deeply concerned about the global impact of COVID-19 especially on the African continent. Today, we are reaching out to request that you join the effort by Senators Sanders, Warren, Brown, and Baldwin urging President Biden to support the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights waiver at the World Trade Organization that will enable the acceleration of the global production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
The Africa Faith and Justice Network is one of several organization who sent a letter to The Honorable Antony J. Blinken, United States (U.S.) Secretary of State, expressing the need…
The world was shocked on February 22, 2021 when news of the ambush and killing of the Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) hit the media. What the world, and many media outlets, failed to report is that crimes like these are hardly new. The killing of such a high profiled political appointment as Ambassador Luca Attanassio only brought attention to a crisis that the Congolese have been facing in this region for over 20 years despite the presence of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces. The high level of insecurity in this region of the DRC has been ongoing with the most recent events being the killing of Ambassador Attanassio.
On February 23, 2021, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria issued We Must Pull back from the Brink of Collapse, a letter to the “People of Goodwill in Nigeria.” The Bishops acknowledged the ongoing crisis in the country and warned of a “looming collapse” and failure of the “Nigerian project” if things do not change. In the letter the Bishops’ address the “serious insecurity […] loss of lives and property” and the unwillingness for those in power to act to remedy the situation. Leaders must set the example to “seek a common purpose” and exercise their “political will.”
The General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) voted to appoint Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, from Nigeria, as Director-General beginning March 1, 2021. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is both the first African and the first female appointed to this position.
February 16, 2021 By Mariah Omer, AFJN Student Intern Divina Maloum is a young Cameroonian peace and social advocate. She is a winner of the fifteenth International Children’s Peace Prize,…
Read the End of Year Report and learn how the Africa Faith and Justice Network managed to further in our mission even amid the COVID Pandemic.
On Thursday, a coalition of dozens of organizations, including the Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN), sent a letter to President-Elect Joseph Biden urging him to support a global response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As groups that work on international humanitarian, development and labor issues, we were heartened to hear you announce that, as part of the future administration’s COVID19 response efforts, you are committed to strengthening U.S. global leadership to fight the pandemic.
With a better understanding of the transmission of the the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we know that no nation is safe if it remains anywhere in the world.
By Iman Mekonen Edited by Ntama Bahati The ongoing armed conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region has displaced many people into neighboring countries. According to the Los Angeles Times, at least…
Learn why there must be a Global Response to COVID-19 that includes Special Drawing Rights by watching this video.
December 2, 2020By Mariah Omer, AFJN Intern Both the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) prohibit the overthrow of democratically elected governments by the…
To prevent and stop the global economy from further collapsing, as was the case in 2008, to protect further losses of U.S. jobs, and to save lives the Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) is asking the Senate to support the issuance of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The SDRs are special bonds to member nations and SDRs do not cost the U.S. anything. We are also asking for debt relief and additional foreign aid to respond to humanitarian crises and COVID-19 related challenges.
On September 17, Africa faith and Justice Network was one of 17 faith based organization which sent the letter below urging Senators to act on a global response to COVOD-19 to save lives, protect the global economy and jobs in the US and abroad. We are calling on every Senator to support: the issuance of 2 trillion in IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR), expanding debt relief, Twenty billion in foreign aid. Why is this relevant to the American people? Part of the answer is in the July 9, 2020 letter by twenty nine Senators to the Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer in which they said: “it is clear that no matter how successful we are at fighting COVID-19 here at home, we will never stop its spread – or prevent it from rebounding back to our shores – if we are not also fighting it around the world. U.S. global leadership in combatting COVID-19 is directly tied to protecting the health, security, and economic interests of all Americans.”
The Africa Faith and Justice Network was one of several organizations calling on Congress to pass an amendment allocating trillions of additional dollars in relief to crisis-hit developing countries. Read the Press Release below:
On August 3, 2020, the work of the Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) in Nigeria was featured in America Magazine. In the article “The Catholic Church’s fight against gender-based violence in Nigeria” Patrick Egwu talks about the increased need for the government’s declaration of a state of emergency due to the protests following the rape and murder of a 22-year old student. The article features the work of AFJN to educate the local population, especially the youth via online workshops and radio programs. Egwu noted that this was made possible by funds covering the costs of the workshops and to pay for data for the youth.
The Africa Faith and Justice Network Uganda Chapter of women religious have been talking about the domestic violence crisis in Uganda due to COVID-19 on Jubilee Radio. For one hour…
