2015-07-30 14:52:00

CAFOD: Faith leaders' “essential role” in tackling Ebola


(Vatican Radio) A new report says Christian and Muslim leaders played an “essential role” in stemming the spread of the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone and Liberia but the delay in involving them in the response cost lives. This was the key message contained in a joint report entitled “Keeping the Faith” that was released in the UK on Thursday (July 30th) by CAFOD, Christian Aid, Tearfund and Islamic Relief. The report shows that Christian and Muslim leaders, as trusted sources of information, were able to deliver vital health messages in parts of the two countries that governments and NGOs could not reach.

The report’s release coincided with the first anniversary of Sierra Leone’s government declaring a state of emergency as the spread of Ebola spiralled out of control. Anne Street is Head of Humanitarian Policy at CAFOD, the Catholic Development Agency, and has recently returned from a visit to Sierra Leone. She spoke to Susy Hodges about the report’s findings and the current situation in the West African country.

Listen to the interview with Anne Street of CAFOD:  

A game changer

Street agreed that it was “a game changer” when faith leaders, especially at the local level, were brought in and became involved in the response to the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone and Liberia.This, she explained, is because religious leaders “have a position of trust” and are “respected and believed” by their communities and that was often not the case when it came to edicts or instructions "imposed" by the government.

As a result, said Street, these faith leaders were able to persuade their local communities to change dangerous behaviour patterns, especially the tradition for mourners to touch or wash the dead bodies of their loved ones. She described how in the early stages of the epidemic in Sierra Leone, over 300 people became infected (and died from Ebola) and these infections were all traced back to attendance at a single funeral. 

Not out of the woods

Street recently returned from a visit to Sierra Leone where Ebola cases are still occurring and she acknowledged that the West African nation is not yet “out of the woods” as far as the virus is concerned.   

“There is a real need for continued vigilance… for faith leaders to continue their important work” in maintaining those “behaviour practices that help protect communities from Ebola.”  








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