Blantyre, 14 August, 2020 / 11:19 pm (ACI Africa).
The Government of Malawi has responded to the concerns raised by the Catholic Bishops in the country that they had been excluded in the process of formulating and announcing new COVID-19 guidelines.
In the statement dated August 9 obtained by ACI Africa, the leadership of Malawi’s Ministry of Health acknowledges the role of faith-based leaders and their respective followers and promises to engage them going forward.
“In recognition of the integral role of the faith community in the fabric of Malawian society in general and the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in particular, the Ministry has resolved to engage religious leaders in further consultations,” Malawi’s Minister of Health, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda says.
The aim of the consultations, the Health Minister says, is “to reach a consensus regarding contextualized methods of applying the rules to religious gatherings that protect religious freedom without compromising the public safety the rules are designed to achieve.”
On August 9, members of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) issued a collective statement expressing their displeasure at the manner in which the leadership of the country issued directives for the Prevention, Containment, and Management of COVID-19 without engaging them.
