WCC NEWS: WCC Executive Committee in Ethiopia exposed to famine situation

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World Council of Churches - News

WCC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE IN ETHIOPIA EXPOSED TO FAMINE SITUATION

For immediate release: 13 September 2011

The WCC Executive Committee opened its bi-annual meetings Monday 12
September in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with a series of welcomes from local
church leaders and poignant and detailed presentations on the regional
humanitarian crisis in Somalia and neighbouring countries.

Recognizing that the influence of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has
brought Christians closer together, Abune Paulos, patriarch of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, welcomed the Executive Committee by
saying the WCC “must continue and endure for the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ”.

“We pray that God may bless you all with his abundance of gifts during
your stay here,” Paulos said.

“I can assure you that we will continue to uphold you in our prayers,”
Rev. Dr Idosa Wakseyoum, president of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church
Mekane Yesus (Lutheran) said in his opening remarks.

“We are the body of Christ and each one of us is a part of it,”
Wakseyoum said.

Both churches are members of the WCC fellowship of 349 churches around the
world. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is a founding member of the WCC, and
Paulos is the WCC president representing the Oriental Orthodox churches.

Church and ecumenical leaders from Addis Ababa attended the opening
ceremony as did WCC Executive Committee (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=3b91ee2bf8c290587e0b ) members, 
regional aid workers
and local press.

General secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches the Rev. Dr
Andre Karamaga welcomed the committee by thanking the WCC “for having
contributed enormously to our struggle for freedom, and we trust this
support … will continue in this era, when our dignity is our top
priority.”

The Executive Committee will spend the week reviewing the work of the WCC.
Members will deliberate over budget, programme, policy and issues of
public concern.


Famine caused by many factors

A particular concern brought to the forefront during the ceremony was the
famine in Somalia which is impacting the entire Horn of Africa region,
including Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.

Robert Hedley of Brot für die Welt (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=68c54685c63971d854b7 ) (Bread for the 
World,
Germany), Yilikal Shiferaw of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Development
and Inter-Church Aid Commission (Link: 
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=203327168e21e1ddb549
), and Dr Agnes Abuom, WCC Executive Committee member from Kenya, all
spoke passionately about the situation.

The crisis has been caused by a combination of ongoing conflicts, drought,
poor access to food, poverty and climate change.

“There must be a road to peace through Somalia,” Hedley said after
describing the details of the situation in Somalia that has been known in
the region for more than a year but has received international press
attention only in the past several months.

Shiferaw said some 4.5 million people require assistance with emergency
food and non-food needs of approximately 400 million US dollars necessary
just for July through December of this year.

Another 3.2 million dollars are required to cover other needs such as
health, sanitation, water, education and agriculture, he said.

“This is the worst famine in 60 years according to the UN,” Abuom said
in her report. “The dignity of the people in this region has been
compromised by the lack of peace and justice,” she added.

“Did we really have to have famine?” Abuom asked, noting that this
crisis has also led to an increase in violence between communities.

Hedley also questioned the reality of a famine in the 21st century. “It
is almost a shame for us to be talking about famine at this time,” he
said.

The Executive Committee will be taking up questions about Somalia along
with their other work during their deliberations. The WCC has been
(Link:  ) involved in responding to the crisis through the ACT
Alliance (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=23d79b66a25a5e3c5f6d ).

“Our world is experiencing great needs and great change seemingly all at
once,” Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary, said in his
opening remarks. “This is no less true here in the African context with
the desperate situation in the Horn of Africa and political change in
northern Africa.”

“The world is in need of the common witness of Christ’s church at this
urgent moment,” he said.

The Executive Committee meetings end Friday, 16 September.

More information on the WCC governing bodies (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=9773c91c197493b2c63c )

WCC member churches in Ethiopia (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=50d6154c7384bbab5086 )


The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness 
and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of 
churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, 
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.



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