Through the ELCA, Shepherd of the Sea supports two global ministries – The campaigns against malaria and world hunger.
Malaria Campaign
Why a campaign against malaria?
For a long time, the ELCA has been supporting clinics and programs in Africa to provide health care. Now we’re focusing on malaria with a new intensity. Malaria kills 655,000 people each year, most are children under five. That’s a child every 60 seconds.
The ELCA, through the ELCA Malaria Campaign, is joining hands with eleven Lutheran church bodies in Africa and becoming part of an historic global movement to say, “enough is enough!” No child, no person, should die of a disease that is both preventable and treatable. Therefore the ELCA Malaria Campaign has committed to raise $15 million to help prevent, treat and educate communities in Africa about malaria and eliminate deaths from this disease—for good.
Malaria Facts
Almost 9 out to 10 of the 800,000 people who die from malaria each year live in Africa..
An African child has on average between 1.6 and 5.4 episodes of malaria each year.
In countries with high rates of malaria, the disease accounts for up to 60 percent of health
clinic visits and 50 percent of hospital stays.
Why the ELCA?
For many years, the ELCA has been building relationships of accompaniment and mutual respect with our companion churches in Africa. Together with our church partners, we are poised to bring about a
massive grassroots movement to contain malaria and bring hope to those who suffer.
Lutheran churches in Africa aren’t just places of worship. They are the center of community life. That’s what makes our work—the work of the church, through churches—perfectly positioned to make a difference.
How we work
The ELCA Malaria Campaign funds programs of our companion churches that:
provide life-saving health care—including medicine to treat malaria
train health care providers and church volunteers to diagnose and treat malaria
teach people how to protect themselves from the mosquitoes that spread
malaria, recognize symptoms and seek treatment
distribute insecticide-treated mosquito nets and provide training on their use
provide preventative medication to protect pregnant women and their babies
encourage governments to provide adequate heath care and malaria prevention activities
support water treatment projects to control the environments where mosquitoes breed
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World Hunger
ELCA World Hunger responds to hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world by addressing root causes. Through a comprehensive program of relief, development, education, and advocacy, people are connected to the resources they need to lift themselves out of poverty. Between 70-75 percent of ELCA World Hunger funds are spent internationally, and 20-25 percent
are spent domestically.
Together, in Christ’s name, we experience the transforming power of connection. As individuals, congregations, and synods, our humble offerings and actions are gathered, blessed, and multiplied. Together, we are ELCA World Hunger. The international work of ELCA World Hunger is carried out
through ELCA companion relationships as well as through trusted partners like Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Because of these long-held connections to partners around the world, ELCA World Hunger efforts are efficient and effective.
ELCA World Hunger responds to Christ’s call to “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37), serving with compassion people who are most vulnerable, paying focused attention to the full participation of women and the needs of children.
For more information on our mission in world hunger, click here.