In many parts of Africa 80% to 90% of people live in extreme poverty. Parents struggle to feed their children, and the life expectancy of many children in around five years. Adults rarely live beyond the age of 50 years.

New government figures released on 7 May 2009 confirm that progress on fighting poverty in the UK had come to a halt, even before the current recession, says the campaigning organisation Church Action on Poverty.

A senior South African Roman Catholic cleric has called on the newly-elected African National Congress government, led by Jacob Zuma, to go all out in its efforts to eradicate poverty, HIV and AIDS throughout the country.

The Episcopal Church is being asked to address the concerns of the poor in the USA, focusing initially on the needs of Native American communities through a "Model for Domestic Poverty Alleviation."

Leading members of the Church of England share the concern of five Anglican bishops about the impact of government economic and social policies on the most vulnerable, a new Sunday newspaper survey claims.

Former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Njongonkulu Ndungane, who succeeded Desmond Tutu, says that the worsening conditions of poverty in many parts of South Africa are reaching crisis proportions.

People in the poorest countries are being forced into poverty by having to repay hundreds of millions of dollars of illegitimate loans from wealthy Western countries to greedy dictators, an international conference has heard.

You can help provide the gift of clean water through Christian Aid. Give the gift of a well as a present on someone else's behalf. Visit Christian Aid's Present Aid site here

As world leaders gather for make or break talks about halving extreme global poverty, development agencies, including Britain's Christian Aid, warn that progress is being hampered by the activities of rich countries and big business.

As Gordon Brown prepares to deliver a speech promising “fairness for all”, church leaders this morning delivered their own message for a fairer society to delegates at the Labour Party Conference.