“A church has to embrace its sick, go out in the world, and work with its people to heal the communities,” said Dr Erlinda N. Senturias from the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, in an interview.

Christian theology regarding all people as created in God’s image can help overcome the HIV and AIDS pandemic. This and other views on the impact of HIV in Africa, its gender dynamics and the role of people living with HIV, were shared by Prof. Musa W. Dube, a former consultant of the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA) in a recent interview.

A staff member of the EHAIA has been elected as general secretary of the Council of Christian Churches in Angola. She will be the first woman to serve in that position, which she considers an “opportunity to mobilize African churches to do more” in healing HIV affected communities.

In a recently published article, Dr Lilia Solano described the impact of Colombia’s armed conflict on its people. A long-time human rights activist, Solano reported that in the decades-long conflict, Colombia has seen five million people displaced, sixty thousand declared as “missing”, thousands killed, and a million hectares of land snatched away from the rightful owners.

The everyday effects of radiation borne by survivors of the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan add up today to an involuntary experiment with public health, community life and environmental affairs.

What will the world look like if we continue careening down a slide of eco-injustice? Ninth graders in South Africa have some idea. In a campaign organized by Suwi Siwila, the students pretended they were living in the future, writing a description to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

At the World Social Forum (WSF) Free Palestine, young ecumenists from Brazil made their presence felt advocating for peace in the Holy Land.

Always smiling, positive and finding something to be thankful for, radiating with compassion, empathy and hope. This is Florence Mbidzo. She has lived with HIV for 24 years, and uses her experiences to inspire an end to the HIV pandemic.

A sense of eco-justice is arriving, step-by-step, in urban Lagos, Nigeria. The story of Njideka Onwunyi shows how one young woman can galvanize a growing response.

Observing World Toilet Day in the village of Parja Suku in Odisha, India, brought forward the painful reality of many communities around the world where good, hygienic sanitation facilities are lacking.