Research Units

Health is more than physical and mental well-being, and healing is not primarily medical. Health and healing were a central feature of Jesus’ ministry and of his call to his followers — a reason why the Church has been engaged in health services for centuries. By stimulating dialogue among faith-based networks and within civil society, PACTPAN contributes to reflection on the theological basis of healing ministry in Africa.

This unit works to defend and promote the fundamental right to religious freedom across Africa, while confronting the gravest violations of human dignity — including genocide, ethnic violence, and systemic oppression. It calls all people of goodwill to stand against the evils of our time through research, advocacy, and public witness grounded in Catholic Social Teaching.

At the core of this unit’s work is developing the diagnostic barometer for evaluating the health of any church or church institution in Africa. The unit works to develop practical tools to help the Church at all levels — from the local parish to the diocese — identify its strengths and address its weaknesses, nurturing a living, dynamic, and mission-driven Church in Africa.

A continental movement committed to the prevention of human trafficking through education, awareness creation, and the promotion of human dignity across Africa. Guided by Catholic Social Teaching, this unit equips communities, Church leaders, and pastoral agents to recognise, resist, and respond to the modern-day scourge of trafficking in persons.

Research, publication, and advocacy to put an end to the scourge of child abuse and neglect in Africa, and the scandal of children being harmed within communities entrusted with their care. This unit works to create safe environments for children in the Church and in African society, upholding every child’s God-given dignity and right to flourish.

The Catholic vision presents the human person as a custodian of divine creation — called to exercise stewardship, not exploitation, over the natural world. Inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical, this unit promotes ecological justice in Africa through research, education, and advocacy, linking care for the earth with care for the poor and marginalised.

Research, public advocacy, training, equipping, and supporting the full inclusion of women in the mainstream of leadership, scholarship, and service in the Church and society of Africa. Inspired by Mary’s faithful witness at Calvary, this unit amplifies women’s voices, supports women religious, and challenges structures that exclude women from decision-making.

This unit aims to strengthen Christian family life in Africa, drawing on the 1994 Synod’s vision of the family as foundational to Church and society. It provides guidance on Christian parenting, addresses modern family challenges within Africa’s diverse cultures, and organises webinars on family life. Key initiatives include a book on the African family and ongoing pastoral research.

Focuses on the youth in Africa and creates spaces for conversations between African young Catholics and church leadership. The unit drives the development of youth ministries and youth formation that are relevant to the real needs and concerns of young Catholics today — their faith, their futures, and their place in the Church and society.

Given the need for ongoing dialogue in the Church and society in Africa, this unit researches the application of the African palaver — the traditional communal process of listening and discernment — in creating practices for a listening, synodal Church in Africa. It bridges ancient African wisdom and the contemporary call of the universal Church to walk together.