Publish date19 Oct 2014 - 14:29
Story Code : 171645

West Africans Fights Ebola With Religion

As the death toll of Ebola epidemic soars, people in West Africa are turning to religion as a last resort to combat the contagious disease amid an increasingly desperate situation.
West Africans Fights Ebola With Religion


“I believe we are all in God’s hands now. Business is bad because of this Ebola problem, so rather than sit at home, I prefer to go to church and pray because I don’t know what else we can do,” Annette Sanoh, a market trader, told the Guardian, reported On Islam.

“We pray Ebola will not be our portion and we pray for hope,” Sanoh added, as the disease this week reached the last remaining district that hadn’t yet recorded a case.

Frightened by Ebola outbreaks, Sanoh, from Sierra Leone, started to go to church almost every night instead of visiting it once a week like many other Christians.

In the deeply religious West African countries people of different faiths are urged to stick to their religion as the only light in their fearful life.

Customers of one supermarket are urged to pray to get rid of Ebola, while Muslims were called to recite the alfathia [the first chapter of the Holy Qur’an]; Christians, Our Father; and Hindus Namaste, a note was dedicated to atheists: “For non-believers, please believe in God. Amen, Amina,” it finished.

However, officials have cautioned people against religious services attended by thousands, saying that they could “ignite new chains of transmission”.

For Ebola survivors, shunning public is not a choice with people’s fears to come closer.

“Even though I survived Ebola, nobody wants to come near me,” Abou Fofana from the Muslim-majority Guinea said.

“Even my children have faced problems as a result.”

Fofana stressed that believing in Allah was the only reason behind his survival.

The contagious disease, which has no known cure, has initial symptoms that include headaches, muscle pain, conjunctivitis and weakness, before moving into more severe phases of causing vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding.

The fatality rate of the current outbreak is around 60% although Ebola can kill up to 90% of those who catch it.

No Contact

With increasing numbers of Ebola deaths, Liberia Christians are resorting to other methods to conduct religious services to avoid crowds.

“These days we go to church, we sing, but we no longer carry out the tradition of passing the peace. We no longer shake hands,” pastor Amos Teah said.

“We are even thinking about using spoons to serve communion … to drop the bread into a person’s palm, avoiding all contacts with that person. The church has placed strong emphasis on prevention,” he added.

The virus, for which there is no treatment or vaccine, has claimed almost 4,500 dead across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The Muslim-dominated Republic of Guinea remains the worst affected by the disease that was discovered in 1976 after an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Senegal was good example for facing the virus.

“Senegal’s response is a good example of what to do when faced with an imported case of Ebola,” WHO said in a statement.

“The government’s response plan included identifying and monitoring 74 close contacts of the patient, prompt testing of all suspected cases, stepped-up surveillance at the country’s many entry points and nationwide public awareness campaigns.”

“While the outbreak is now officially over, Senegal’s geographical position makes the country vulnerable to additional imported cases of Ebola virus disease,” WHO said.
/SR
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