News & Stories

Global Health

Explore impact stories and learn how your support helps partners strengthen health systems and provide essential care for individuals and communities around the world.

As Global Ministries celebrates World Breastfeeding Week in partnership with UMC health boards, hear from Catherine Norman, health board coordinator in the Sierra Leone Conference.

Browse Recent Stories

Filter by:

Global Ministries’ coronavirus response is reaching those in need internationally and in the U.S. In addition to grants from the Sheltering in Love UMCOR COVID-19 Response Fund, 32 solidarity grants have been dispersed from UMCOR, Global Health and other program units, totaling about $346,000.
To control the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, the General Board of Global Ministries, recommends observing simple everyday preventive actions, WHO and the CDC infection prevention and control measures, that help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses.
The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) around the world demands the attention of the global ecumenical community.
Based on health and logistical factors linked to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Global Mission Fellow program will skip of year of sending young adults to serve in international justice-related ministries.
The temporary hold placed on approved grants in March has been lifted, allowing more than $29 million to be released over the remaining months of the year.
Through the COVID-19 Response Fund, UMCOR plans to release grants to equip partners who assist vulnerable populations in the U.S. and around the world impacted by COVID-19.
A statement from the Inter-Ethnic Strategic Development Group, a coalition represented by the five racial ethnic caucuses of The United Methodist Church, urges public officials to discontinue the use of the racially loaded term “China/Chinese Virus.”
Join Thomas Kemper, general secretary of Global Ministries, as he begins a series of conversations that highlight global mission during a pandemic.
The Global Health and UMCOR response to the coronavirus pandemic continues: an ongoing, flexible plan is being developed for United Methodist church leaders, local health professionals and disaster management offices to strengthen the capacity of communities to respond with effective public health methods. The Philippines and DRC are the first partners in the prevention response.

Contact Information

Have questions? Send us an inquiry and we’ll get back to you promptly. Please direct all media inquiries to Susan Clark, chief communications officer for Global Ministries and UMCOR.

General Inquiries

Media Inquiries

Susan Clark, Chief Communications Officer
media@umcmission.org
800-862-4246

UMCOR Campaigns

Six Years, No Solution: A 500-Gallon Tank Carries Hope to West Virginia’s Forgotten

McDowell County is one of the poorest in the U.S., and the communities of Anawalt, Leckie and Gary are some of the hardest hit by the current six-year water crisis. All have Methodist churches that are part of the Welch Charge.

To ease the burden of residents who have to purchase many gallons of drinking water weekly, the Welch Charge contacted the West Virginia Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, Jim McCune, for help. McCune’s United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) connection put him in touch with Global Ministries’ Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program. 

A WASH grant allowed them to obtain a 500-gallon “water buffalo.” The conference disaster response team arranged to fill the portable water buffalo from the Welch water system, the county seat of McDowell, and transport it to Gary, where residents have been supplied with refillable containers. Residents of all three towns can come to get water, and volunteers will also continue deliveries for those who need it. Meanwhile, residents, including church members, continue to advocate state and local officials for a permanent solution to their aging, compromised water infrastructure. Full Story