28/11/2025
Africa’s Health Crisis:
Faith Leaders Sound Alarm, Urge Bold Action and Unity
By NYONGAMSEN NDASI
Nairobi, Kenya — November 27, 2025
Christian faith and health leaders from ten African countries have issued a powerful and urgent appeal for renewed commitment to health across the continent, warning that Africa is facing a “moral and ethical crisis” as preventable diseases rise, essential services falter, and international support declines.
Gathered in Nairobi from 25 – 27 November, senior clergy and health experts from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia released a unified statement titled “One Faith, One Voice: A Shared Commitment to Health and Wholeness in Africa.” The statement calls on governments, international partners, Churches, and communities to act decisively to protect lives and strengthen health systems.
At the heart of their message is a simple but profound conviction about promoting health as a spiritual mandate and not merely a technical task for ministries or NGOs.
Rooted in Scriptures such as John 10:10 and Matthew 10:7–8, the leaders argue that caring for the sick and advocating for justice are core expressions of Christian discipleship.
The leaders paint a stark picture of Africa’s current health landscape. Across sub-Saharan Africa, they note, health systems are overwhelmed by eight converging pressures, from shrinking international funding, resurging malaria, rapid population growth, rising adolescent vulnerabilities, recurrent outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance, a surge in noncommunicable diseases, to escalating conflicts that displace communities and collapse local health service deliveries.
Many faith-run facilities which collectively operate more than 14,000 health centres and hospitals across the region, report shortages of essential medicines, underpaid health workers, and growing patient loads. With faith-based providers responsible for 30–70% of health care in many countries, the leaders warn that cuts to these services directly endanger millions.
“This is no longer only a health crisis,” the statement insists. “It is an ethical and moral crisis.”
For decades, Churches and Faith-based health systems have been among the most trusted institutions in African communities (rural and urban and rich and poor). The statement emphasizes that clergy often see suffering first, such as the mother who cannot afford antenatal care, the young man silently battling depression, the family facing tuberculosis, the community shaken by cholera.
Yet Faith leaders say they can do far more if governments and partners recognize their role as equal contributors to national health goals.
They commit to speaking boldly from pulpits and public platforms about issues often kept in the shadows including adolescent mental health, substance abuse, maternal deaths, HIV, noncommunicable diseases, and pandemic readiness. They also pledge to counter harmful myths and misinformation that block people from seeking care.
The leaders urge African governments to allocate at least 15% of national budgets to health, in line with the Abuja Declaration, and to engage Faith-based providers in planning, financing, and evaluating health outcomes.
They appeal to donors and global institutions to maintain predictable funding, warning that “lives are being threatened and lost” as support dwindles.
However, they also challenge Churches to model transparency, stewardship, and local resource mobilization which demonstrate that faith communities are not only asking, but giving.
Perhaps the most compelling part of the statement is its tone; not accusatory, but inviting. The leaders ask Africans everywhere, congregants, youth groups, mothers’ unions, health workers, and policymakers to begin deep, honest conversations about the health struggles facing their families and communities.
Their message is clear: health is everyone’s responsibility, and real change begins when people talk, connect, and act together.
In a time marked by scarcity and fragmentation, the leaders choose unity, compassion, and what they call “love without hesitation.” Their collective voice signals a growing movement urging Africans to confront health challenges not with despair, but with shared purpose and hope.
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