Fast-Track Health and World Council of Churches Forge
“Faith in Action for Healthy Cities” Partnership
WASHINGTON, DC, USA, AND GENEVA, SWITZERLAND | 20 July 2026 — Fast-Track Health and the World Council of Churches (WCC) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing a strategic partnership to mobilize faith communities as key partners in advancing equitable, inclusive, and person-centered urban health across the global Fast-Track Cities network through a “Faith in Action for Health Cities” initiative.
The collaboration recognizes that faith communities are among the world’s most trusted institutions and play an indispensable role in promoting health, compassion, social justice, and community resilience. Through the partnership, Fast-Track Health and WCC will jointly develop practical frameworks, tools, research, pilot initiatives, and advocacy strategies that strengthen collaboration between municipal governments, public health systems, and faith-based organizations.
The agreement outlines an ambitious agenda that includes joint development of a global Faith and Health Framework, a “Faith in Action Community Townhall Toolkit,” a pilot interfaith townhall series in selected Fast-Track Cities, a Global Faith and Spirituality Survey, a Global Faith and Health Report, and a high-level faith-focused satellite symposium during the global Fast-Track Cities 2026 conference 11-13 October 2026 in Berlin.
“This partnership with the World Council of Churches affirms that faith communities are indispensable partners in building healthier, more inclusive cities,” said Dr. José M. Zuniga, President/CEO of Fast-Track Health. “By bringing together municipal leadership, public health expertise, community engagement, and the moral authority of faith communities, we have an extraordinary opportunity to improve health outcomes while advancing dignity, compassion, and social justice.”
Rev. Prof. Dr. Jerry Pillay, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches stated, “Building on its long tradition of diaconal service and advocacy, WCC engages churches and interfaith partners as trusted community anchors that can address the physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing. In collaboration with Fast-Track Health, the WCC will help develop faith-informed frameworks, community dialogues, and public engagement that strengthen trust in health services, combat stigma and misinformation, and mobilize congregations as active agents of healing in urban settings.”
The partnership extends beyond traditional public health collaboration by embracing the physical, mental, social, and spiritual dimensions of well-being. Through evidence generation, implementation science, and community engagement, the two organizations aim to create scalable models that cities around the world can adapt to address HIV, other communicable diseases, noncommunicable diseases, and climate-related health impacts.
About Fast-Track Health
Fast-Track Health is a global health organization dedicated to accelerating responses to communicable and non-communicable diseases and addressing the health impacts of climate change. Through data-driven accountability, workforce development, policy innovation, and integrated urban-national collaboration, Fast-Track Health works to build resilient, equitable health systems worldwide.
About World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of 356 churches from more than 120 countries, representing over 600 million Christians worldwide. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Council of Churches works to promote Christian unity, justice, peace, reconciliation, and human dignity while supporting collaborative action on humanitarian, social, environmental, and global health priorities.