Mwai Makoka, MBBS, Program Executive for Health and Healing at the World Council of Churches dives into case studies of health-promoting churches, including churches in Tonga, Kenya, South Africa and North Carolina.

1. HEALTH-PROMOTING CHURCHES
June 2019, Geneva
DR MWAI MAKOKA, PROGRAMME EXECUTIVE FOR HEALTH AND HEALING, WCC
BOARD MEMBER, AFRICA CHRISTIAN HEALTH ASSOCIATIONS PLATFORM (ACHAP)
BOARD MEMBER, ECUMENICAL PHARMACEUTICAL NETWORK (EPN)
BOARD MEMBER, CHRISTIAN CONNECTIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL HEALTH (CCIH)

2. Introduction
• The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches which
confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the
scriptures, and therefore seek to fulfil together their common calling
and towards visible unity.
• Established 71 years ago, the WCC is a fellowship of 350 churches in
110 countries with over half a billion members

3. The
beginnings
of
ACHAP

6. What is our motivation?
• The Christian ministry of healing belongs
primarily to the congregation as a whole, and
only in that context to those who are specially
trained
• The medical institution and the church on the
national and more particularly on the local level
have traveled too often in separate directions
• Mission programmes should reasonably be
expected to become an integral part of the life
and witness of the local church.

7. What is our motivation?

8. What is our motivation?
Ecumenical study on health, healing & wholeness
1978 – 1989
Congregations should engage in PHC:
• To correct unjust distribution of health resources
• Empower people vs. over-medicalisation and
commercialisation of health
• Reduce heavy dependence on professional and
institutional health services, allowing them to
provide expert care for complicated illnesses for
which they are trained

9. Case studies of health promotion, prevention,
treatment and support through churches

10. TONGA
A health education session in a Church, facilitated by a Church volunteer
trained by the Ministry of Health.

11. TONGA
An aerobics session in a church.

12. TONGA
Church-based
screening for
NCDs and risk
factors.
Cholesterol
and glucose
done by MoH,
easier ones
done by the
churches

13. North
Carolina,
USA
An aerobics
session in AME
Zion Church

14. North Carolina, USA Effectiveness of the programme

16. South
Africa
NCD support group in Methodist Church of Southern Africa, Durban –
providing adherence support, treatment monitoring and literacy.

17. South Africa
Diary of
health
education
sessions

18. Kenya
“Health tip
for the
week” in
Church
liturgy/
bulletin

19. • A “health-promoting churches” model programme
• Biblical reflections on health

20. Toolkit to accompany churches
DApplications
CAdministration
BAnalysis
AActivities
Establishing the core
wellness program activities
and interventions that will
make a lasting and
measurable impact on the
target population
Implementing the best
monitoring & evaluation
tools, standards, and skills
to benchmark our progress
and define success
Reaching consensus on the
governance, management and
coordination structures that
are required for the program
to succeed, and documenting
them
Discovering, piloting and
deploying information
technology solutions that
would support an effective
and data-driven
implementation of the
wellness program

21. 4 x 4 model for NCDs
Food and
Nutrition
Physical
activities
Tobacco Alcohol
Health education
Healing & practical
action
Lobby and advocacy
on PSE
Empowerment for
public witness
The congregation as a place of health
education: learning about health and ill-
health from both medical, social, and
theological perspectives. (Health
Education)
The congregation as a place of healing:
taking practical action at the personal,
family, and community level. (Healing &
Practical Action)
The congregation as a place for caring:
advocacy for peace, justice, and care for
creation. – Policy, Systems, Environment -
PSE (Advocacy)
The congregation as a place of
empowerment: taking positive and bold
action at the workplace/marketplace
within the members’ realm of
responsibility and influence.
(Empowerment)

22. Handbook for HPC
• Practical handbook
• Simple, user-friendly structure
• Rationale
• Steps to follow
• Tools and resources
• Standards of success (key indicators)
• Annexes

24. Focus group discussions
• On-going process to:
• triangulate the model
• explore areas of potential traction and challenges
• obtain additional insights
• So far conducted in:
• Johannesburg, South Africa
• Accra, Ghana
• Freetown, Sierra Leone

25. Next steps
• Finalise the handbook
• Develop IT platform
• Print
• Translate into other languages
• Regional and national sensitisation workshops
• Leverage CHAs as entry points at national level
• Frontrunner churches, e.g., ELCA, MCSA, UMC Peru, MCSL
• 4 x 4 x 4? To reach 4 million people by 2021

26. Biblical reflections on health
• <1,000 words
• A 10-minute read during church service
• In-depth discussion at other church fora, e.g., Bible study
• Commemorative health days
• Format
• Key medical issues (cause, prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, prevention)
• Key socio-economic issues (determinants)
• What does the Bible say (or doesn’t say) on the topic…
• Contextual issues, including SDGs
• Proposals of practical actions “What can churches do…”

28. Expected outcomes
• Promote health education
• Facilitate practical action
• Stimulate conversations on health issues in church circles

29. Next steps
• Finalise the write-ups
• Proof-read and edit
• Print
• Translate into other languages
• Disseminate and promote, including digitally
• Receive and manage feedback

30. Thank you
“Everywhere people are dying from
diseases that are preventable.
Christians can lead the way in
providing models of a
comprehensive approach that can
remove the burden of preventable
death. Thus, prevention becomes a
tool for healing.” HHW
Available for free download in
English, French and Spanish at
www.oikoumene.org