Africa – African Faith Leaders discuss strategies to navigate contemporary crises
Catholics and experts of various faiths gather in Nairobi, Kenya, to set concrete proposals and collaborations in order to achieve sustainable development and support Africa's recovery. Caritas, the Jesuits, and Jubilee USA hosted a two-day meeting at the Elysian Resort in Nairobi to engage in discussions concerning how best to navigate Africa through the contemporary crises afflicting the entire continent.
Africa's crisis
The final statement wrapping up the event individuated, among them, "the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, food and nutrition insecurity, climate change, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, fragile health systems, conflicts, terrorism, and debts." The meeting, held on 7-8 August, consisted of presentations, panel discussions, and interactive sessions featuring faith leaders from across the continent, together with "Church and non-Church experts," as assessed by an initial document released by the institutions that organized the event.
The press release mentioned how, in Africa's challenging context, the Catholic Church played a crucial role "given its long-standing commitment to promoting social justice and human dignity.""Its vast network of educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and social service programs," the statement affirmed, "touch millions of lives, providing context-specific solutions to the continent's diverse issues."
A critical debt crisis
The final document signed by leaders of Catholic and other Christian Faith Denominations, Muslim and Indigenous Religions, highlighted a critical debt crisis, affecting the "social sector spending to achieve the global sustainable development and climate goals." Faith leaders traced an overview of today's African economic crisis starting from the late 1990s, when "our faith communities were among those gathered in the Jubilee movement to advocate for breaking the chains of debt in developing countries."As the new Jubilee year approaches, "that promise remains unfulfilled."
Addressing inequities
"We celebrated that world leaders delivered $130 billion in debt relief, which helped advance poverty reduction spending in recipient countries," the document recognized.
By Edoardo Giribaldi
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