As the death toll rises in the cholera crisis, the overall effects are already having an immeasurable impact. The bacteria is swiftly changing lives in Chitungwiza, Midlands, Manicaland, Masvingo and Mashonaland Central provinces and is forcing people in the country to rethink how we engage with one another.
Over 2 300 suspected cases were recorded in Harare alone by Wednesday, Sept 12 and the government declared the cholera outbreak a state of emergency as numbers of people dying or falling sick from the bacterial infection rise.
At least 24 people have been confirmed dead from the latest cholera outbreak.
Responding to the stance of the church on the Cholera outbreak, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) Secretary-General Pastor Blessing Makwara said that it is a sad development that the country is going through.
“It is a sad moment… While we lobby for real solutions with water supply; we are urging churches to be places of education on prevention and with referral information for treatment,” the youthful cleric said.
Another church unison, the Zimbabwe Council Church (ZCC), convened for an emergency meeting at their premises in Harare on Thursday morning with various stakeholders to share ideas on how to critically deal with the problems of service delivery.
An opportunity has arisen in the cholera outbreak to deal with e deep rooted problems of service delivery. Gathered at e ZCC premises today are stakeholders sharing ideas on how to critically deal with the problems of service delivery@visetinfo @cohsunshinecity pic.twitter.com/wfXNqOGYTv
— zcc (@zccinzim) 13 September 2018
This publication ran an editorial piece this week in which we implied that amid this crisis, the spiritual or religious voice has been detached and, sometimes, silent.
The clergy across affected areas have done little more than raise prayers for deliverance from the cholera crisis, which many views as a plague.
Perhaps many pastors are trying to survive along with the families, and they are baffled at the speed and severity of the disease.
But the larger question, is, when and how can the church best engage in local and global health crises? What is the role of ministry in times like these?
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