Spare a thought
At the sight of them, nations are in anguish (Joel 2:6)
I am guilty of a crass folly. In my naivety I thought that the less developed nations of the world, with their very different demography that favours the young, might escape this pandemic relatively unscathed. I am not suggesting, please note, that their fewer elderly can reasonably be sacrificed with little economic strife. I simply thought that the prevalence of young people meant that the idea of herd immunity might actually work without over-stressing the health system. Oh how narrow minded I have been.
Let's look at the reality for an underdeveloped nation. Social distancing is a nonsense. In the slums of Nairobi or Kampala, Delhi or Mumbai, in the favelas of Sao Paolo or Rio de Janeiro you are lucky to ever be 2m from a fellow human being let alone try and spend months apart. So vast numbers will catch the virus very rapidly.
Health services are minimal at best for all but the very wealthiest. In Zimbabwe, for example, estimates suggest there are less than 20 ventilators in the whole country, and about 0.1 doctors per 1000, compared to the UK's 2.8. That's about a third of one percent as many general practitioners. Emergency care doctors are likely to be far fewer. The harrowing images we have of full hospitals and hugely over-worked doctors will be multiplied many fold.
But in many ways, this may not even be the biggest problem. Much of the wealth that arrives in the poorer nations of the world, especially in Asia, is sent back by migrant workers living and earning abroad. At the moment, this source of income has almost entirely dried up as these workers are repatriated as rapidly as possible by their host nations. Not only are they likely to bring the virus back with them, but the money they provide is what has kept many families and communities above the bread line. It is all gone. Starvation will be washed up in it's wake.
As a result our news programmes, in their usual doom and gloom format, are predicting mass migration on a par with that during the worst of the Syrian crisis. People will not be fleeing the virus, but escaping the poverty caused by the collapse in the global market in migrant workers and raw materials for manufacture. I suspect the pundits may be right.
So nations are in anguish, but is there anything we can do about it? I suggest two things. First, get ourselves sorted out as soon as possible. Stay at home, protect the NHS, save nations. Pray that people see the need to love their neighbour as they love themselves. Second, as soon as we can, look to the nations of the world. Make this a global battle against poverty and disease. Then we may hope that our nations, our world, will finally begin to come together. And God's people need to be in the forefront, so as to fulfil God's promise to Abram, 'through your offspring all the nations of the world will be blest'. So let our homes be a house of prayer for all nations.
I am guilty of a crass folly. In my naivety I thought that the less developed nations of the world, with their very different demography that favours the young, might escape this pandemic relatively unscathed. I am not suggesting, please note, that their fewer elderly can reasonably be sacrificed with little economic strife. I simply thought that the prevalence of young people meant that the idea of herd immunity might actually work without over-stressing the health system. Oh how narrow minded I have been.
Let's look at the reality for an underdeveloped nation. Social distancing is a nonsense. In the slums of Nairobi or Kampala, Delhi or Mumbai, in the favelas of Sao Paolo or Rio de Janeiro you are lucky to ever be 2m from a fellow human being let alone try and spend months apart. So vast numbers will catch the virus very rapidly.
Health services are minimal at best for all but the very wealthiest. In Zimbabwe, for example, estimates suggest there are less than 20 ventilators in the whole country, and about 0.1 doctors per 1000, compared to the UK's 2.8. That's about a third of one percent as many general practitioners. Emergency care doctors are likely to be far fewer. The harrowing images we have of full hospitals and hugely over-worked doctors will be multiplied many fold.
But in many ways, this may not even be the biggest problem. Much of the wealth that arrives in the poorer nations of the world, especially in Asia, is sent back by migrant workers living and earning abroad. At the moment, this source of income has almost entirely dried up as these workers are repatriated as rapidly as possible by their host nations. Not only are they likely to bring the virus back with them, but the money they provide is what has kept many families and communities above the bread line. It is all gone. Starvation will be washed up in it's wake.
As a result our news programmes, in their usual doom and gloom format, are predicting mass migration on a par with that during the worst of the Syrian crisis. People will not be fleeing the virus, but escaping the poverty caused by the collapse in the global market in migrant workers and raw materials for manufacture. I suspect the pundits may be right.
So nations are in anguish, but is there anything we can do about it? I suggest two things. First, get ourselves sorted out as soon as possible. Stay at home, protect the NHS, save nations. Pray that people see the need to love their neighbour as they love themselves. Second, as soon as we can, look to the nations of the world. Make this a global battle against poverty and disease. Then we may hope that our nations, our world, will finally begin to come together. And God's people need to be in the forefront, so as to fulfil God's promise to Abram, 'through your offspring all the nations of the world will be blest'. So let our homes be a house of prayer for all nations.
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| Sunset over the Isle of Wight, seen from the window of an aircraft on route to Majorca |
Thank you George. This link gives useful information about the situation in Africa:
ReplyDeletehttps://africacenter.org/spotlight/mapping-risk-factors-spread-covid-19-africa/
If you scroll down after the maps, there is a "composite chart of risk factors" which shows that South Sudan is the most at-risk country on the continent. As Sherborne Deanery has a link with the Diocese of Ezo in South Sudan, could I please ask for prayers for Bishop John and his people there? Thank you.
Sheila, Holwell
Thank you Sheila. It is so important when we are shut in to look out.
ReplyDeleteDo post any prayer requests and answers onto the Three Valleys Team Facebook page. Then we'll all see them. Just respect confidences.
ReplyDelete