The climate of religious freedom is not really getting better, says Dr. John Graz, director of public affairs and religious liberty for the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide.
The question of religious freedom remains unsettled as Afghanistan wrestles with its new constitution.
The recent opening of the first Seventh-day Adventist publishing house in Israel, "Chaim Veshalom," which is Hebrew for "Life and Peace," marked a milestone for the church, which has ministered in Israel for 107 years.
A high illiteracy rate throughout Central America has prompted Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders in the region to declare 2003 as a "year of literacy."
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria continues its efforts to receive government recognition for the Sabbath, or Saturday, the church's day of worship.
Several operations of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's regional headquarters in Abidjan--including coordination of ministries--are being temporarly relocated in the wake of domestic crisis.