Anglican bishops tackle malaria

Bishop Luke Lungile Pato of the Anglican Diocese of Namibia says leaders of the faith community can play an important role in supporting efforts to eliminate malaria because of their close connection with people at grassroots level.“It is important for faith leaders and churches to be involved in combating malaria. Churches are present in communities. They are trusted, respected and active everywhere. Churches extend the reach of existing national services and can use their experiential knowledge of the local context to identify and take action against the specific local drivers of malaria,” Pato says.He is one of four southern African Anglican bishops who have declared war on malaria, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) says still kills approximately 445 000 people globally annually. More than 90% of these deaths occur in Africa. Children form a significant percentage of people who die of malaria in Africa.The other bishops are Archbishop Albert Chama, archbishop of central Africa, Bishop Cleopha Lunga of the Diocese of Matabeleland in Zimbabwe, Bishop David Njovu of the Diocese of Lusaka in Zambia; and Bishop Andre Soares of the Diocese of Angola.Towards the end of last year Pato and his fellow bishops visited the United States to drum up support for efforts to rid the region of malaria.“There are many players who grapple with other diseases such as the Aids pandemic and tuberculosis (TB). Very few people have committed to eliminating malaria. Yet interventions to eliminate malaria require joint efforts. Together we can eliminate malaria for good,” Pato says.In a recent interview Pato said churches could not sit idly by while malaria ravaged their congregants.“Malaria kills if it is not diagnosed and treated early. A large part of the population in the Diocese of Namibia live in northern Namibia where many cases of malaria have been reported especially in the Kavango region,” he said.On what role church leaders can play, Pato highlighted creating awareness about the dangers of malaria, dismissing myths and encouraging people to seek treatment where necessary.“We can help train nurses and volunteers to conduct rapid diagnostic tests and to distribute mosquito nets, especially in remote inaccessible areas.”The bishop said the Diocese of Namibia has done a lot to combat malaria.“The diocese recently distributed 6 500 mosquito nets to communities and hospitals, especially in the Omusati and Ohangwena regions. Our key partner is the ministry of health and social services in those regions. Our main donor partner is the JC Flowers Foundation from New York.”On the recent trip to the USA, Pato said the objective was to motivate those with influence in decision-making in the US “to triple efforts in financing the fight against malaria”. He said mosquitoes are developing resistance to insecticides and malaria parasites are developing resistance to existing treatment. Pato said while in the USA the bishops met five senators individually. His assessment is that all the senators they met were in favour of influencing the US government to significantly increase its financial contribution towards the Global Fund project. “The USA has been the biggest contributor towards this fund and its contribution has influenced other countries in the past. The Global Fund project supports Sustainable Development Goal Three, which strives to ensure healthy lives and promote the wellbeing for all people.“The goal is to end the epidemics of Aids, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases and to combat hepatitis, waterborne diseases and other communicable diseases. The senators assured us of their support,” he said. On how the financial support that the bishops have been canvassing would be used, Pato said the funds would not go to the Anglican Church but to the governments of the countries in which the bishops reside. “The churches partner with the health ministries to access funding. Our visit was sponsored by the JC Flowers Foundation, which is committed to work with the churches in sub-Saharan Africa.”Pato said the diocese of Namibia has a cross-border agreement with Angola to bolster efforts to eliminate malaria.“This agreement recognises that malaria knows no borders.”He said between 1 May 2017 and 30 September 2018 the Namibian Diocese supported the training of 35 nurses (26 Angolan, 9 Namibian), 14 outreach officers in Angola and four environmental health officials in Namibia.MOSES MAGADZA

Anglican bishops tackle malaria

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-07

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Anglican bishops tackle malaria

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-07

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