Open Doors is seeking a million signatures on a petition requesting the United Nations, African Union, EU, and governments around the world to take action for persecuted Christians in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Arise Africa campaign has already garnered 550,000 signatures for the millions of Christians facing violence and displacement in the region. According to Open Doors, more than 90% of Christians killed for their faith last year were in sub-Saharan Africa, where increasing violence is largely driven by Islamist extremists taking advantage of political instability in the region.
In addition to the rising death toll, a displacement crisis has emerged with 16 million Christians forced to flee their homes. Most are currently living in camps for IDPs (internally displaced people) and many have lost their land and livelihood to Islamist militants, particularly in northern Nigeria.
