Education
The Christian Sermon Guide, uniting faith and science for Ghana’s children – EnviroNews
– Advertisement –
A faith-based resource designed to empower pastors, church leaders, and community influencers to weave public health and child protection messages into their sermons has been developed by The Light Foundation-Ghana, an NGO in collaboration with UNICEF, Ghana,
Rooted in scripture and Christian values, the “Christian Sermon Guide: Immunisation, WASH and Child Protection,” is purposely to empower faith leaders to champion child health and protection by addressing the three critical pillars of immunisation; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); and safeguarding children from abuse and neglect.
By embedding these themes into sermons and community outreach, the Guide leverages the trust and authority of the church to counter misinformation, encourage positive behavior change, and strengthen resilience in Ghanaian communities.
The publication was introduced to members of the Zone D group Women of Faith Ministry of Perez Chapel International (PCI) when they met for their usual “Emergency in His Presence” prayer session. The Saturday, June 20, 2026, meeting at the Charis Temple of the Perez Chapel International (PCI) Ashaley Botwe branch, did not only witnessed the launch of the publication. It became a holistic forum where sanitation, immunisation, women’s health, and child welfare were discussed in depth and underscored the power of faith-based platforms to drive social change.
The Essence of the Guide
At its heart, the publication recognises that the pulpit is not only a place of worship but also a platform for advocacy. It calls on Christian leaders to become agents of transformation, ensuring that every child has the right to health, dignity, and protection. In doing so, it bridges faith and public health, demonstrating that spiritual leadership can be a powerful force for social justice and community well-being.
Beyond being a handbook, it is an exhortation equipping leaders with sermon outlines and biblical references that connect spiritual teachings to urgent social issues.
This vision was captured in the opening remarks of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Light Foundation, Sheikh Ali Abukakar Napari. “Some of the issues we have with flooding is because of our own behaviour, rubbish is discarded indiscriminately… gutters get choked, breed mosquitoes and cause health problems for us,” he said.
Sheikh Napari emphasised that sickness knows no religion and called for collaboration: “Ghana is a beautiful country… but sicknesses do not know religion, so let’s come together to see how best we can collaborate and tackle them.”
The Guide, he explained, is part of a broader interfaith effort: “Light Foundation in partnership with UNICEF and religious leaders… produced this Sermon Guide, one for Muslim communities and another for Christian communities.” The Sheikh made a simple and profound appeal to the women, who are mostly leaders in their various branches to take the information, internalise it, and share it widely.
The Human Papillomavirus (HPV): A Silent Threat
The meeting also became a platform for urgent health education. Nurse Bernice Armah of the Port Health Accra International Airport presented on HPV-related diseases in Ghana, drawing attention to the virus’s silent but devastating impact.
“The danger in contracting this virus is that it is often not detected early and can attach itself to the cervix and stay there for 10 up to 15 years without any symptom or sign,” she warned. Unlike malaria, which manifests fever and weakness, HPV can remain hidden for decades.
Nurse Armah’s presentation outlined the modes of transmission – sexual and non-sexual and emphasised the importance of screening: “The only way to know whether you have contracted the virus or not is through screening.”
She explained why government vaccination programmes target children aged 9–14: “It is presumed that at that age they are not sexually exposed. Therefore, once the vaccine is given to them their bodies will build the immunity,” adding that for adults, screening and vaccination remain critical preventive measures.”
The presentation also highlighted risk factors such as multiple sexual partners, unfaithful spouses, shared sex toys, HIV infection, smoking, and lack of vaccination. Symptoms, when they appear, can include anogenital warts, abnormal bleeding, and cancers of the cervix, anus, vagina, vulva, penis, and oropharynx (middle part of the throat).
Nurse Armah concluded on an unequivocal note: “The introduction of routine HPV vaccination of adolescents and young adults has been associated with a decline in the burden of HPV infection as well as HPV-associated diseases. There should be intense advocacy for inclusion of HPV vaccination in the national vaccination programme.”
Social Welfare and Child Protection
The conversation then broadened to social welfare issues, led by Exorgbe Divine, Municipal Head of Department of Social Welfare and Community Development, Adenta Municipal Assembly. He reminded participants that child protection begins at home: “Child protection starts from the bed when parents become angry with each other and fathers walk out of the house… So the children grow up on their own and with most of them engaging in social vices.”
Divine stressed that exploitation undermines the future of children’s: “The child is supposed to be in school, but that child has been asked to work and bring money home for the family. Early child marriage is another form of exploitation.”
His remarks tied family dynamics directly to child welfare outcomes, underscoring the importance of love, forgiveness, and functional family structures in raising resilient children. The Social Welfare expert also remined them about the importance of mothers registering the names of their newborn children because it facilitates the acquisition of the Ghana Card later in the child’s life.
Momoka Ishida of UNICEF Ghana closed the session with appreciation for the animated discussions and reinforced the collective responsibility to protect children: “Individually we can all look out and support one another. So that children can be prevented from early marriages and mothers will be encouraged to register the names of their newborn babies. Let’s continue this conversation.”
Biblical Mandate and Community Responsibility
Earlier, Apostle Dr. Christian Sowah of Charis Temple PCI, stressed that the Guide is not just a resource but a roadmap of how the church will have to present a sermon on vaccination, the HPV virus, curbing early child marriage, and also sanitation among other societal issues.
In an interview, he promised to initiate discussions on the Guide and its contents with his colleague ministers across denominations, “to secure their buy-in to this very educative publication.” Apostle Dr. Sowah reinforced the biblical foundation of the Guide’s message: “Scripture has made us to understand that we should train up a child in the way he should go, and he will not depart from it. Now women are the best trainers of children and so the content of these lessons are how to curb early child marriage and promote vaccination of children.”
He reiterated the importance of birth registration as a civic duty tied to identity and citizenship: “Registration of babies is paramount as it identifies them as citizens of this country and now that Ghana is progressing in using the Ghana Card, the birth certificate is crucial in getting the Card.”
By Ama Kudom-Agyemang