Monrovia — The keynote speaker of the Global Public Health Forum at the 16 Biennal Conference of the New Water in the Desert Church has urged members of the faith community to prioritize Global Health issues as a part of their mission as they continue to preach the gospel.
By Willie N. Tokpah/0777039231
Speaking over the weekend on Global Health issues in Brewerville, Dr. Monique Chireau Wubbenhorst, Senior Public Policy Fellow at Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture and Former Senior Deputy Administrator in the Bureau of Global Health of USAID in the USA, noted that health is a part of the mission of the Church since Jesus commanded to preach and heal, as such, it should go along with spirituality.
He said the health of Liberians is crucial and connects to global health, which must be a concern for everyone.
“We saw this Ebola. Ebola came from Guinea and spread to Liberia and then to other countries in West Africa because we live in a connected community. The disease does not respect borders, what happened in one country can affect another,” Dr. Wubbenhorst stressed.
According to Dr. Wubbenhorst, to address global health problems amicably, all projects and funding should have as their goal, the health of local families and communities and not populations.
These fundings he said should not benefit faceless individuals or organizations who just sort to get profit, but families affected by helping to improve their health and wellbeing, through access to tools they need to thrive.
Dr. Wubbenhorst said the focus on global health should emphasize family well-being because they are the building block of society aid agencies and NGOs have spent huge funding on global health in other dimensions but often had little to show at the local level.
This according to him, resulted from funders prioritizing one disease category or one perceived need over the other or one ideological goal over the other, this being oblivious to the actual situation on the ground which results in the neglect of the crucial goal to help improve the health of families and communities.
However, he maintained that the church remains the most powerful force in global healthcare in Africa, because 80% of healthcare is provided by faith-based organizations.
“Faith-based organizations go where no others can, to the most difficult and dangerous places, because of relationships of trust and a commitment to take care of anyone, regardless of who they are,” Dr. Wubbenhorst noted.
“Faith-based organizations often operate on a very small budget and are by necessity very conscious of the need to provide the most economic care they can, in the most efficient way possible.”
According to Dr. Wubbenhorst, faith-based organizations are a part of stakeholders who should have a trickle-down effect on stakeholders like faith-based institutions, who need them the most.
Therefore, he further indicated that local organizations must embrace fiscal accountability in managing resources so that these Western donors will see the need to address global health at the local level.
At the same time, Dr. Wubbenhorst added that making global health local health does not involve just large organizations and development professionals, but involves the health workers out in the bush.
“It involved the pastors, teachers, evangelists, and faint church members,” he said.
While he sees global health as being crucial, he recollected that the church’s mission and agenda are directly given to God.