Advocacy

#SaferStronger Action Campaign with USGLC

CCIH is partnering with the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition on advocacy efforts to reach United States policymakers with our message that Christians support U.S. international assistance. Thanks to this partnership, we’re providing an easy way for U.S. residents to enter their address and send emails to their Senators and Representatives through a dedicated portal. After emailing, you can also call their office.

It’s essential that Congress hears from people of faith about the importance of these programs in saving lives and strengthening America. Contact your representatives today.

CCIH Resource Hub for Christians

CCIH also developed a Resource Hub with material to help you Pray, Act, Advocate, and Care for those around you. Visit the Hub.

Faith-based Health Services Partner with the United States for Global Health Security

In many low- and middle-income countries, Christian and other faith-based health services play a significant and essential role in providing healthcare to individuals who may otherwise have limited or no access to medical services. For example, 22 Christian health networks in 17 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa reported 8,355 health assets in 2023. The data was compiled and analyzed by the Christian Health Asset Mapping Consortium in partnership with the Africa Christian Health Associations Platform. While these faith-based health providers are highly motivated to care for those in need, their work was often leveraged by US foreign assistance helping them reach more people with life-saving care before the termination of US-funded health programs. See CCIH fact sheet on how FBOs and the US government partnered to reach people with care, the importance of these partnerships, and what we must do next.

CCIH Expresses Concern over Termination of US Foreign Assistance

February 27, 2025 – CCIH issued the following statement on the mass termination of foreign assistance contracts. Many Christian organizations were among those who received news that their projects are among the 10,000 canceled February 26. These cancellations were done after only 30 days, far short of the 90 days the US Administration had said they would take to develop criteria and review programs for alignment with the US Government’s interest.

CCIH Statement: Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH) has learned that the US Administration has terminated 90% of foreign assistance programming and frozen over $1.5 billion in resources legally due to partners worldwide for lawful work they have already performed. All of this was done in haste, without considering the long-term effects, sending shock waves to Christian churches, health facilities, and communities in many countries. Our global membership makes this clear: we are suddenly at the precipice of a new international health catastrophe affecting everybody – including American industry and health. This catastrophe should, and could still, be avoided. We urge the Administration to adapt quickly: as it closes the door on current foreign assistance initiatives, it must open windows for new opportunities for development investments. This will signal to a hurting world that the US is still interested in their fate. Faith communities are ready to engage.

January 27, 2025 – As a network of 124 Christian organizations working in 90 low- and middle-income countries, Christian Connections for International Health is committed to advancing health and wholeness for all. Our Christian faith motivates us to follow Jesus’ call to feed the hungry, care for the sick, shelter the homeless, and provide hope to the most vulnerable. For decades, U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance has supported the work of organizations, including Christian organizations, living out their calling to serve. We are deeply concerned that the order to abruptly halt work supported by current life-saving programs during the review of U.S. foreign assistance will cost lives and disrupt access to health care for the most vulnerable people in the world. See the full statement

CCIH Executive Director Doug Fountain was interviewed for this piece in Christianity Today on the stop work order: Chaos for Millions in HIV/AIDS Treatment Program in Africa. This opinion piece by Doug Fountain on the situation appeared Religion News Service: Suspending PEPFAR: An emergency of our own making.

Previous Advocacy Actions

PEPFAR Reauthorized for One Year

On March 23, 2024, the US Congress passed a funding bill that was signed by President Biden and includes a one-year reauthorization for PEPFAR (which would need to be reauthorized again on March 25th, 2025). While CCIH is grateful the reauthorization continues the bipartisan consensus and support of global health programs, we hope Congress will use this extra time to provide a multi-year reauthorization to PEPFAR soon. This would allow partners to more accurately plan out their own activities and support programs that address HIV/AIDS. See more below about the challenges to PEPFAR, unfounded rumors and how CCIH and others in the faith community have responded in defense of PEPFAR, one of the most successful and lifesaving health programs.

Rumors Regarding PEPFAR and Abortions

The 2023 PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) reauthorization was complicated by rumors that the program funds abortions. Shepherd Smith, Co-founder of Children’s AIDS Fund International has been a strong advocate for and involved in Christian work to care for and provide support for people living with HIV for many years, going back to before PEPFAR’s creation.

Shepherd Smith researched the situation and found no evidence to support the rumor that PEPFAR is funding – or has funded – abortion or promoted abortion and wrote a summary of his findings, as well as an opinion piece explaining why Why a One-Year PEPFAR-Reauthorization Is a Really Bad Idea. In the piece Shepherd explains the pitfalls of the one-year reauthorization and presents why conservatives and pro-life advocates who have knowledge about the program and work in developing countries have always been supportive of PEPFAR.

Opinion Pieces from Faith Actors Supporting a Clean PEPFAR Reauthorization

CCIH, the Christian Health Association of Kenya and the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services contributed to this opinion piece posted by the Global AIDS Policy Partnership on “Why Christian Organizations Want Congress to Reauthorize PEPFAR.”

In this opinion piece in the New York Times, Father Richard Bauer shares his experience working for 25 years in clinics for people with HIV in Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia and the transformational impact he saw from PEPFAR. Father Bauer is a Roman Catholic priest with the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers who serves as a hospital chaplain and social worker. In the piece, he expresses his support for a clean five-year PEPFAR reauthorization and debunks the rumors that PEPFAR funds have been used for abortions.

World Relief President and CEO Myal Greene wrote an opinion piece published in The Hill about PEPFAR and why he supports it: PEPFAR is a pro-life miracle – evangelicals must continue to support it.

Advocacy Resources

CCIH Advocacy Toolkit

CCIH released this advocacy toolkit in 2022 that we hope members will be able to use and customize to achieve their advocacy goals. We aim for it to be useful for organizations that have been advocating for years, as well as for those who are just beginning. To help guide development of the toolkit, CCIH conducted several focus group conversations with members to learn more about their advocacy outreach and ways that CCIH might be more effective in supporting those efforts.

CCIH Advocacy Advisor Bob Noziglia wrote this blogpost to share some highlights of those conversations and what we’ve learned, as well as a follow up piece to explore the influence of faith communities a little deeper. We hope you will use the toolkit and we would appreciate hearing from you about your thoughts or suggestions for advocacy tools so we can continuously improve the toolkit.

Why Christians Support Strong Global Health Programs

This two-page brief explains why US support of strong global health programs aligns with Christian values and is a wise investment to protect security and economies.

Christian Voices on the Importance of Advocacy

In this video, CCIH members explain the value of U.S. foreign assistance and why advocating and speaking out for those without a voice is important to them as Christians.