The Kiribati Protestant Church is to set up a division within the church to deal with societal issues.
The church's general-secretary, the Rev. Bureieta Karaiti, says the general assembly paved the way for the Church to start making constructive contributions to social issues affecting Kiribati by adopting a resolution to set up the division.
Reverend Karaiti says for decades the church has been contributing to social issues directly through the church's womens' body and its specific youth programmes.
But, he says this new step means church members will be contributing in a concerted way to the social problems faced by the country.
The assembly discussed a wide range of issues from the convention of the right of the child, to women's rights, climate change and free trade.
