Malawi faith leaders launch framework for combating Covid-19 pandemic

Faith leaders in Malawi have launched a Joint Faith Community Response and Adaptation Framework (Covid19JFRAF), which will guide churches and faith groups on what they should do as they contribute towards national efforts to combat the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

The launch of the framework took place at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) today.

The framework aims at responding to real issues and addressing the short, medium, and long-term needs of the faith community to ensure effective preparedness, prevention as well as timely, consistent and coordinated response.

Action by Churches Together Alliance (ACT Alliance) Malawi and the Malawi Interfaith AIDS Association (MIAA) facilitated the development of the document with financial support from Christian Aid.

And in his remarks, chairperson of the Global Act Alliance Membership and Nominations Committee, Melton Luhanga, said the guide will help reduce duplication of faith-based efforts, guide resource mobilization, enhance networking and collaborative efforts among faith actors, and will be a measurement tool.

Luhanga therefore thanked all the faith leaders that took part in the development of the document.

Act Alliance Malawi Forum national coordinator, Matthews Msiska, said the faith community in Malawi, led by ACT Alliance Malawi Forum and MIAA, remains committed to providing support to strengthen multi-religious actions and community mobilization, in countering the COVID 19 pandemic and mitigating its impact.

Msiska disclosed that MIAA is drawing on its experience with managing HIV and Aids disease outbreak while ACT Alliance Malawi forum is drawing on its both national and international experience managing other emergencies such as Ebola, floods and droughts to effectively coordinate the faith response to this new Covid-19 pandemic.

He said it is against this back ground that a faith platform on Covid-19 Response in Malawi was formulated to enhance coordinated response to Covid-19 among the faith actors.

“The platform is committed to providing support to strengthened multi-religious actions and community mobilization, in countering the Covid-19 pandemic and mitigating its impact.  In this vein, ACT Alliance Malawi forum and MIAA have facilitated development of this joint framework with the purpose of presenting in a single framework, the basis for faith based response approach to complement government efforts in achieving the National Covid-19 Preparedness and Response Plan,” said Msiska.

Chief of Health Services in the Ministry of Health and Population, Dr. Queen Dube, said the government is excited with the launch of the framework.

Dube said the government looks up to the faith community for the successful administration of Covid-19 vaccine.

She said the government will provide churches with resources to enable them actively participate in awareness raising and dispelling false and fake news about the disease as well as the soon-to-be rolled out vaccine.

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