The number of coronavirus cases in Zambia is still relatively low, with just 16 confirmed cases to date. When asked about the impact of the worldwide pandemic on Zambia, Bright Hope Country Director Mark Brubacher shared with us their current strategy for COVID-19 prevention, as well as some other severe hardships the country has been facing:
- Malicious gangs are gassing innocent people.1
- Flooding has affected 700,000 people in a total of 28 districts, leaving thousands in need of relief support.2
As for the 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Zambia, other than the schools shutting down, Zambians are more focused on recovering from the recent gas attacks and flood devastation; they are not ready to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
However, Mark and his team are working on a three-tiered COVID-19 response program for our partner communities.
Level-1 Information & Prevention: They have put together pamphlets for our church leaders covering what the virus is, how it is transmitted, what the symptoms are and what can be done to prevent it. They will be going out with this basic information and prevention program and will train our network of church leaders so they can train the rest of their congregations.
Level-2 Treatment and Social Isolation: Should the few confirmed cases that they currently have fail to be contained and COVID-19 spreads to Luapula Provence, they will conduct a second training with our church leaders on how to care for the sick at home and how to determine when to seek medical treatment. They will also train on quarantine practices as well as what the churches can do to support families in quarantine. They are looking at using local tailors to make masks, because by the time the outbreak reaches our communities, there won’t be any left to buy.
Level-3 Disaster Response: “If Zambia gets a full-on outbreak of COVID-19 we will be completely overwhelmed. Bright Hope will do what it can and respond to needs as they develop.”
HOW TO PRAY FOR ZAMBIA:
“We don’t have many prayer requests right now concerning Coronavirus, other than please don’t let it hit Zambia. We would appreciate prayer for wisdom as we meet with our leaders.” -Mark B.
Written by Mark Brubacher and Leslee Baron.
