Global Health

Every day 3,000 children under the age 5 die from malaria, a disease that is easily prevented and treated if detected early enough.

44 million people are affected by HIV-AIDS. Hundreds of thousands of children have been left without parents. The future of the African continent is being shaped by the loss of life that results from these and other diseases of poverty.

The Global Health Initiative is a multi-layered, multi-faceted effort to engage the people of The United Methodist Church in the effort to combat diseases of poverty and significantly reduce the incidence of malaria and HIV-AIDS, while also addressing the destructive effects of poverty.

Unlike any initiative attempted before, this initiative seeks to involve congregations, annual conferences and the general agencies at the grassroots level to focus on the diseases of poverty with the full resources and skills of the global United Methodist community. It will require deep and meaningful collaboration as well as long-term commitment.

This initiative is one of scale. It will seek to utilize the capacity of The United Methodist Church to affect change globally, recognizing that no single entity can do this alone. The initiative will leverage funding and create new partnerships to increase health ministry, communication about health, and advocacy for changes in public policy.