Looking after the family 'home': How the Church plays a vital role in tackling a deadly virus
https://archives.anglican.ca/link/article39329
- Material Type
- Journal Article
- Journal
- Anglican World
- Date
- 2016 May
- Issue
- 141
- Page
- 10-11
- Notes
- "Last year the deadly Ebola virus dominated the headlines and drove fear across West Africa. In the last few months the vicious Zika virus has been threatening communities in South America. Although the international health authorities take the lead with action plans and schemes, it seems churches across the Communion have a vital role to play. A few weeks ago the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil (IEAB) joined with other churches in the country to raise awareness of the Zika virus and promote preventative measures through an ecumenical Lenten campaign for a healthy environment. Its campaign 'Care for our Common Home' lifted up the right to clean water and sanitation in Brazil. IEAB Primate Archbishop Francisco de Assis da Silva said, 'Half of the population of Brazil has no access to sanitation and a great number have no clean water. The outbreak of Zika is an example of the neglectful situation in which our people live. All of this can be overcome with education, mobilization and public policies that take into consideration the preservation of the environment'" (p. 10). "[C]hurches in West Africa have been reflecting on their role during last year's Ebola outbreak. The bishops of of the Dioceses of Bo [the Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Tucker] and Freetown [the Rt. Rev. Thomas A.I. Wilson] in Sierra Leone and of Guinea [the Rt. Rev. Jacques Boston] joined representatives from partner agencies and link dioceses at a meeting convened by the Anglican Alliance to explore lessons learned and how they might be applied to similar crises elsewhere. They all concluded the churches must be involved as partners by the government, the UN and other agencies. .... findings of a report commissioned four faith-based agencies, called 'Keeping the Faith: the role of faith leaders in the Ebola response', showed there was significant delay in engaging faith communities -- a delay, it states, that may have cost thousands of lives. The report documents the trajectory of the virus, which showed the sharp decline in its spread coincident dramatically with the point in time when the faith leaders became centrally engaged in the response. Once the faith leaders were involved, the report found that they were transformational due to their trusted, respected long-term presence in communities and their ability to contextualize the response to take into account local beliefs and traditions" (p. 11).
- Subjects
- Diseases
- Epidemics - Religious aspects - Anglican Communion
- Public health - Religious aspects - Anglican Communion
- Public health - Brazil
- Public health - Africa, West
- Zika Virus Infection - Religious aspects - Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil
- da Silva, Francisco de Assis, 1959-
- Water-supply - Brazil
- Ebola virus disease - Religious aspects - Church of the Province of West Africa
- Church of the Province of West Africa. Diocese of Bo
- Tucker, Emmanuel J.S.
- Church of the Province of West Africa. Diocese of Freetown
- Wilson, Thomas A.I. (Thomas Arnold Ikunika)
- Church of the Province of West Africa. Diocese of Guinea
- Boston, Jacques
- Proud, Janice
- Location
- General Synod Archives