USA (MNN) — The Africa Leaders Summit closes in Washington, D.C., with the United States promising to commit $55 billion to Africa over the next three years.
Religious freedom was not on the agenda, but Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says it should’ve been.
“One of the challenges for Christians in Africa is the rise of radical Islam. There are connections between that and economic activity because if you’re running for your life, you’re not planting crops [or] looking for oil,” Nettleton says.
“Stopping terrorism and persecution has economic benefits, but it seems that often is overlooked.”
Persecution in Central Africa rose so much this year that VOM is tracking two new countries. See the countries VOM monitors here. “Mozambique is on that new map [and] the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” Nettleton says.
“Islamist rebel groups in DRC are specifically kidnapping, attacking Christians, and killing pastors.”
Militant Islamist activity has been steadily rising in the continent since 2013. Violent attacks increased eightfold in the Sahel region between 2015 and 2020.
A nurse overheard Dalo praying for his persecutors when he arrived at the hospital. (Photo courtesy VOM USA)
Now that you know, what will you do? “The first thing we do is pray. God can work in Africa when we pray in America,” Nettleton says.
You can also help displaced believers through VOM USA.
“I think another thing we can do is make sure our government leaders know that we care about our Christian brothers and sisters in Africa. It’s important for us who live in a democracy to have a voice and let our government leaders know this is important to us,” Nettleton says.
“They are elected officials. In theory, they work for us; we get to set their priorities. And we need to let them know religious freedom is a priority.”
Find your representative here.
In the header image, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken delivers remarks at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Foreign Ministers Dinner at the Department of State on December 14, 2022. [State Department photo by Freddie Everett/ Public Domain]
