01 December 2020

 

Lenore Susan and Pepper

                                  WORLD AIDS DAY

 At midnight I woke up to join the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns Prayer Vigil for World AIDS Day.  I could see a full moon overhead in a crystal clear sky.  My neighbor's windows had electric candles burning in each window pane. And I began to remember the many people I had met during this long journey which began for me in Tanzania.

I first went to Kowak Bedded Dispensary in 1985 and met a raging measles epidemic.  In 1987 I began to see young people, especially men, who were wasting away and very sick.  One was 27 years old.  He was well educated and worked as an airplane mechanic at the International Airport in the capital city, Dar-es-Salaam.  When he could see that he was dying he traveled the entire breadth of the country to come home to Kowak to be with his family.  In 1987 I saw two people; in 1986 thirteen and in 1987 39.  The trajectory of the epidemic was sky rocketing.  

I remembered a woman whose husband died of this mysterious illness.  The custom of the Luo speaking people in Kowak was for a brother of the husband to inherit his wife and children.  She would become his wife now and she would be cared for by him.  But that man was terrified and announced that he wouldn't take her until she had lived a long time.  This prevented the spread of the virus but it also left her destitute.  This man was not going to care for a woman and her children without concomitant conjugal rights. 

I remembered the lab worker in Lobone Sudan who had tested a person for HIV and had to leave the area.  When the doctor told the person the test was positive the family threatened to kill the lab worker.  This was during the war and very little was understood by local people about HIV/AIDS.  People solved their problems with guns.

I remembered Daisy and her brother Geoffrey who came to our hospital in Kimini, Kenya at ages five and two to be hospitalized MANY times.  They had both been infected in utero and their mother had died.  The father was unknown.  Then, another Maryknoll Lay Missioner and physician assistant, Marj Humphrey, began them on pediatric antiretroviral medications at the Kitale AIDS Program in the big nearby town.  Over the next two years they both got stronger and stronger and were never hospitalized with us again.  I saw them last in 2011.  Daisy was a teenager and Geoffrey was still an imp, albeit getting bigger and more impish.

I remembered L., a well educated woman with whom we all worked in Nanyangacor Sudan on water projects and development for the Diocese of Torit.  I had heard that she was very sick and expected to die. The rumor was that she had AIDS.  Her husband was a rebel soldier who had died in a car accident and she became a member of parliament when South Sudan gained independence in July 2011.  I last saw her in 2018, much thinner and weaker but she didn't die.  She was, like so many South Sudanese, much stronger than we could imagine and with the help of medications she continued to live on. 

I remembered so many people in Mombasa between 2010 and 2018 who were still stigmatized by others because of their illness.  Some  were so terrified they couldn't tell their local medical assistant.  One day a tall, healthy man with a Turkana name came to the clinic, in Bangla informal settlement where he lived, to get his blood pressure medicines and they weren't working.  So, the medical assistant asked me to see him.  Because I recognized his name from a place VERY far away from Mombasa we started chatting.  I asked him if he had been screened for HIV and he said yes.  I asked him what the result was and he said he was positive.  He was going to an AIDS clinic in the next informal settlement to get medicines for HIV there.  He was coming to the clinic in his home to get his blood pressure medicines.  Neither clinic knew all the medicines he was taking.  He didn't want anyone in his home clinic to know he had HIV.

We have made a lot of progress with the HIV pandemic but still there is no vaccine.  In contrast, the Covid pandemic is very close to rolling out vaccines and there is no stigma.  What a lot we all still have to learn about health and humanity.

At the end of this month I will retire as a Maryknoll Lay Missioner and this will be my last post on this blog.  My mother and I are well, as you can see in our picture, and we wish you a very blessed Advent season.  May it bring you to a joyful Christmas and many blessings in the New Year.

PEACE OF GLOWING CANDLES AND LOVING HEARTS BE WITH YOU

It is the practice of Maryknoll Lay Missioners in Kenya 

to pray and work for peace on the first of each month.

01 November 2020

 Calls for Equitable Global Distribution 

of COVID-19 Vaccine

Leaders, including Pope Francis, are calling for just and equitable distribution of any future COVID-19 vaccine.  This article was published in the November-December 2020 issue of NewsNotes. 

As pharmaceutical companies work feverishly to develop a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19, efforts are being made to ensure that any successful vaccine will be distributed equitably among countries so as not to bypass the poorest and most vulnerable. Pope Francis and Catholic health organizations have called for the practice of solidarity through just and equitable distribution of the vaccine. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) and associate groups have organized a platform called the COVAX Facility to support the research, development, and manufacturing of over 150 vaccine candidates and provide equitable pricing and distribution. The goal is to provide 2 billion doses by the end of 2021. Eighty-two developed countries have committed to the project and contributed funding, and 92 low- and middle-income countries are eligible to participate. 

Notably, the United States and Russia have not joined in this effort, although China has recently committed. In July 2020, the U.S. announced it would withdraw from the World Health Organization.

All countries that commit to COVAX will receive enough vaccine doses for 20 percent of their population as soon as vaccines become available. In an attempt to end the acute phase of the pandemic quickly, these vaccines will be distributed first to health care workers, the elderly, people with preexisting conditions and people living in close quarters. 

The logistics of vaccinating 7.8 billion people will require immense cooperation and planning. Of the four major vaccine types currently being tested, one will require extremely cold storage, which will be problematic even for highly developed countries. About 38 percent of the global population lives in places that lack temperature-controlled storage for vaccines. In addition, the vaccine may require two doses for efficacy, which will increase logistical challenges. At this point it is impossible to know how long vaccines will be effective, so booster vaccines may be required as well. 

Vaccine development is a long and tricky process. It usually requires four, strictly-monitored, phased trials over 10-15 years before a vaccine is approved. In the United States it is possible to bypass these requirements in an emergency situation, such as a pandemic, so long as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) believes that there are reasonable benefits that outweigh the risks of vaccine distribution, given the evidence available. 

However, if the FDA gives a vaccine Emergency Use Authorization, the standards for safety will be higher than those of other vaccine candidates, with routine re-evaluation of the vaccine as new data becomes available. In addition, vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children will only be able to receive the vaccine when more data on its safety becomes available. 

The Catholic Health Association in the United States supports the guidelines for vaccine distribution set by the WHO and stresses that development and distribution of an effective vaccine should be based on the principle of solidarity so as to protect vulnerable people and the general public. In a public letter, the Association urged that global leaders “[give] all people access to the vaccine while minimizing global and domestic competition which drives up prices for limited supplies.” They added that, “All people, barring exceptional circumstances, have a responsibility to be vaccinated.”

In an interview on October 7, Pope Francis stated clearly his call for justice in the distribution of a vaccine: “The vaccine is the patrimony of humanity, of all humanity, it is universal; because the health of our peoples, as the pandemic has taught us, is a common heritage, it belongs to the common good.” 

The WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has welcomed the comments from Pope Francis. “Supply nationalism exacerbated the pandemic and contributed to the total failure of the global supply chain,” said Ghebreyesus. “We have learned the hard way that the fastest way to end this pandemic and to reopen economies is to start by protecting the highest risk populations everywhere, rather than the entire populations of just some countries.” 

On Twitter, Ghebreyesus added, “I couldn’t agree more with [the words of Pope Francis]. The #Covid19 pandemic shows that we must make health a human right for all and not allow it to be a privilege for the few. It also gives us an opportunity to rebuild a better, safer, fairer world – together!”
 

Photo, Vaccine production, by Sanofi Pasteur via Flickr

This is an article that I wrote for the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns 

As a woman, I am celebrating 100 years of women's suffrage in the USA this month having voted in our elections once again.  I am aware that women are still not allowed to vote in the Vatican City State and that women still find it difficult in countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakhistan, Afghanistan, Uganda and Kenya to name a few...

https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/countries-where-women-can-t-vote/

PEACE OF ALL SAINTS DAY 1ST NOVEMBER

It is the practice of Maryknoll Lay Missioners in Kenya 

to pray and work for peace on the first of each month.

01 October 2020

       POST ELECTION VIOLENCE

I am remembering the postelection violence that I experienced in Kenya in 2008.  Each of these pictures depict events I actually saw myself.  Certain shops were looted and destroyed because they belonged to a particular ethnic group.  Homes were destroyed and people were crowded into camps for displaced people.  Young kids were paid the equivalent of USD 0.50 to carry petrol in yellow plastic jerry cans, throw it on buildings and burn them down.

I saw hundreds of people in our little hospital each day and heard their stories of rape, beatings, torture and relatives shot in their fields at 9am in the morning while planting their crops.

     I had seen all of this during the 12 years I worked in Sudan during the second war (1991-2003) but I never expected to see it in Kenya.  We later learned it had been planned by others for more than a year before the elections.  Some of the planning was done by our neighbors whom we knew.

     From December 2007 to April 2008 we ran out of petrol and had to wait in long lines until it became available.  A nearby farm couldn't transport their milk to the creamery so I bought it to feed the people in our displaced camps.  Our ability to use internet was through the phones and we couldn't buy air time to load our phones.  A friend in Nairobi would send air time to my phone when I as desperate.  I watched from my little home while fires on Mount Elgon burned at night for weeks on end.  The Bishop, Maurice Crowley, wanted me to leave this little home in a small village and stay in a bigger town and I was grateful for his concern.  But I felt safer away from the bigger town and I had a lot of work to do at the hospital.  He always answered his phone when I called him for something I needed.

     I couldn't leave our little town except by air during the worst of it.  When I left in April to come home to care for my mother I travelled in a bus under armed convoy through the burned out villages and camps with flimsy tents for people who had lost their homes.

     I now expect to see postelection violence in the USA next month.  I am preparing for it.  I have registered to vote by mail and am awaiting my ballot.  As soon as it arrives I will complete it and take it to the drop box at the voting center.  I am encouraging everyone to vote.  Please make a specific plan for when and where you will vote.  Tell others about it to help you stick to your plan and encourage other to do the same.

     I am recommitting myself to the Pax Christi Vow of Nonviolence.

https://paxchristiusa.org/resources/vow-of-nonviolence/#:~:text=Vow%20of%20Nonviolence%20%E2%80%93%20Pax%20Christi%20USA.%20Tens,liturgy%2C%20or%20any%20other%20way%20that%20suits%20you.

     I am praying fervently to center my resolve and show my care and concern for others.  I will stock up on enough essentials to care for my mother and myself as well as to assist others who will find themselves in need if disruption occurs.  

     But I am not afraid.  I have been through all of this before and I have seen how people take care of one another.  I have seen how God takes care of us too. There will be a lot of pain and we will suffer.  But we will learn and grow in the loving embrace of the source of all being and love.

PEACE OF THE FALLING AUTUMN LEAVES BE WITH YOU

It is the practice of Maryknoll Lay Missioners in Kenya 

to pray and work for peace on the first of each month.

Oct 2nd - I am praying fervently for the Trumps, and all who are infected with SARS Cov2, that they will recover quickly.  Illness can be a powerful, life changing experience.  I am much more compassionate and kind since I became ill with Sjogrens in 2009.  Please join me in prayer for their healing.

01 September 2020

COVID 19 AND GLOBAL HEALTH

     Malaria kills and 90 percent of these deaths occur in Africa.  Delay in treatment can cause death in just days, especially for children.  Each year in March, rains start falling in Uganda and bring mosquitoes and malaria.  At the Catholic Hospital in Kitgum Uganda, consultation and treatment for malaria costs the equivalent of US$3.75.  That requires three days of work at the basic wage.  Prevention with insecticide treated nets has been disrupted as distribution has been stopped by travel restrictions for the Covid pandemic. Annual malaria deaths had been dropping in recent years but,  according to Dr. Pedro L. Alonso, director of the World Health Organization’s global malaria program, “Covid-19 risks derailing all our efforts and taking us back to where we were 20 years ago.”    

     At the same time the rains brought malaria to Uganda, the Covid pandemic also began.  Because of past experience with Ebola, Uganda confronted the pandemic with effective public health measures.  However, the economy is devastated by lockdowns and now the biggest problem with accessing treatment for malaria is lack of money.  Fr. Dave Schwinghamer, MM works in Kitgum and reports that those without money purchase malaria medicines from less reputable sources for $0.25 or go without treatment until they become very sick.

     This pandemic has also affected people living with HIV.  Recent reporting shows this group has not become as sick with Covid as initially feared.  They quickly followed public health guidelines having learned from past experience with the HIV pandemic.  Experts wonder if the treatment for HIV offers some protection against the Covid virus and research is studying this.1 However, 25% of people with HIV can’t access the medicines they need each day and some have been sharing their drugs to stretch out their supplies.  These drugs are usually distributed on a monthly basis and need to be taken properly to prevent the virus from developing drug resistance.  Some countries, such as the Philippines, are considering dispensing medications for three to six months intervals to avoid this problem.   80% of HIV drugs are produced by eight Indian companies and some fear that these companies will increase the cost of their product or will switch to producing more lucrative drugs used to treat Covid.

     But perhaps the pandemic will most severely affect TB which kills 1.5 million people worldwide annually. TB is also spread from person to person through respiratory droplets.  Lockdowns in the small, cramped living quarters of Brazilian favelas and informal settlements in Nairobi will allow one person to spread the bacterium to 15 other people on average.  The World Health Organization (WHO) has received information from 121 countries reporting a decrease in the number of patients attending TB clinics.  A test called GeneExpert is regularly used to diagnose TB.  It can also amplify the genetic material of the Covid virus. So, some clinics are now only using it to look for the Covid virus rather than both organisms.  Companies, such as Cepheid in California, have switched from manufacturing TB tests to Covid tests because of financial gain.  When diagnosis of TB is delayed, transmission continues unabated.  When treatment is disrupted, TB resistance also develops and multidrug resistant (MDR) TB is increasing.  In June, the WHO changed the treatment program for MDR TB from 20 months of injections to ten months of pills, hoping that patients will better access the treatment they need.2

     Social determinants will negatively impact the health and lives of many, especially young girls.  In Kenya, schools have been closed for the remainder of 2020 and students will need to repeat the year.  The number of teen age pregnancies is increasing because girls are defiled at home, usually by men known to them.  In Tanzania these pregnant girls will never be allowed to return to public school.4 Lockdowns reduce access to immunizations and other public health measures to prevent disease.  They also impoverish people who live on the small incomes they generate daily from small businesses.  Food becomes scarce in both quality and quantity. 

     An effective and safe vaccine will be key to managing the pandemic and alleviating these knock-on effects.  The WHO plans to set terms for a new pact entitled COVAX Global Vaccines Facility by August 31, 2020. It aims to avoid ‘vaccine nationalism’ by providing Covid vaccine distribution worldwide, targeting health care workers and those most at risk. Vaccines will be delivered to 20% of the populations of member nations as soon as vaccines become available. 

     The United States has yet to provide leadership and funding for these global strategies.  On July 9, 2020 32 Senators signed a bipartisan letter to Senate leadership calling for “emergency funding for Covid 19 (that) includes a robust coordinated and sufficiently resourced international response.” To date this legislation languishes in Congress.  Dr. Tedros Ghebrejesus, chief of the WHO advises, “For the world to recover faster, it has to recover together, because it’s a globalized world: the economies are intertwined. Part of the world or a few countries cannot be a safe haven and recover.” 

The U.S. Congress would do well to speed up its response.

Faith in action: Urge Congress to provide foreign aid for COVID-19 recovery: https://bit.ly/MOGCaidCOVID

      Let's end on a VERY happy note.  On 26th August the WHO announced that wild virus polio has been eradicated from the continent of Africa!!!  I was privileged to work on this campaign in Sudan and Kenya.  Only two countries in the world, Afghanistan and Pakistan, still harbor the virus.

https://mklm.org/the-good-news-of-polio-eradication-in-africa/

PEACE OF THE SEASON OF CREATION TO YOU

1st September - 4th October

https://seasonofcreation.org/

It is the practice of Maryknoll Lay Missioners in Kenya 

to pray and work for peace on the first of each month.

1.https://www.npr.org/2020/08/03/898581035/they-know-what-a-pandemic-is-hiv-survivors-see-similarities-to-aids-epidemic 

2.https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/health/coronavirus-tuberculosis-aids-malaria.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20200803&instance_id=20930&nl=the-morning&regi_id=127404277&segment_id=35086&te=1&user_id=0ce8dac562c8998105e02485745d6854

3. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis

4. http://healthministryinkenya.blogspot.com/

5. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/08/18/903617560/who-chief-urges-nations-to-join-in-preventing-vaccine-nationalism

6. https://www.gavi.org/covid19/covax-facility

7. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/07/global-report-who-warns-against-dangers-of-vaccine-nationalism

01 August 2020

Mary (not her real name) and Susan

GIRLS IN A PANIC FROM THE PANDEMIC

     Mary finished secondary (high) school in Kenya but didn't have money to go farther.  Her father, the headmaster of a primary school, only paid for education for the boys.  He had more than one wife and not enough money.  So I gave her a job in my house but soon found out she was pregnant.  

     Goal #5 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals states: “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030.” Education is the key for girls and women to reach this goal.  I made sure that Mary had good prenatal care and delivered her baby safely.  Then I used mission money to send her to nursing school so she could return to work at  Kiminini Cottage hospital in Kitale Kenya where I worked.  Her daughter is now 12 years old and Mary continues to provide excellent nursing care.
     Kenya closed schools in March when the Covid pandemic was announced.  On July 14th the Ministry of Education ordered head teachers to go back to work and begin collecting data on school girls who have become pregnant during school closures.  Kenya is one of 26 countries, among the 54 that make up the continent of Africa, to allow a girl to continue at school until and after she gives birth.
     In Tanzania the expulsion of pregnant girls from public schools is permitted under Tanzania’s education regulations.  Maryknoll Lay Missioners recently interviewed Loyce Veryser, one of our missioners who teaches secondary school in Tanzania.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9NvHmBPlCg&feature=youtu.be

     Loyce shared that three parents recently reported their daughters had become pregnant and would not be returning to school.  In Tanzania, almost two out of five girls marry before they reach 18. The government has failed to adopt a law prohibiting the marriage of children under 18.  If a girl is married off, her family will receive a dowry from her husband's family because she leaves her family and enters his family.  She is 'lost' to her family and they must be compensated. In that way, her family can obtain property and money.  Because of Tanzania's regulations about education, these impregnated girls will never be allowed to return to the public school system.  If they want to continue education they will need to find a place in a private school and the money to pay for it.

     In contrast, Kenyan law prohibits marriage before age 18.  Any girl less than 18 years is a minor and cannot consent to sexual activity.  Therefore sex with a minor is described to be defilement with stiff penalties.  

     Mary never identified the man who fathered her child.  I never asked.  From experience, I know that Kenyan girls and women are assaulted 80% of the time by men they know; an uncle, a neighbor, a teacher, even their own father.  Patriarchal societies often give preference to boys and men culturally.  During the six years I worked in Kitale Kenya I assisted over 120 girls and women with medical examinations after they had been sexually assaulted.  My youngest patient was 11 months.  The oldest was 79 years.  Despite working closely with local authorities we were only able to bring six cases to court and obtain one conviction.

     All of these cultural problems will be exacerbated by the Covid pandemic and concomitant global economic collapse.  Goal #5 will be harder to attain and progress will be slowed and sometimes halted.  This pandemic will cause more panic and suffering for girls who are abused.  When we can't prevent it we must compassionately attend to it.  And as my 79 year old patient shows, every woman is vulnerable to sexual assault until the day she leaves this earth.

PEACE OF SLOW PROGRESS TO YOU

It is the practice of Maryknoll Lay Missioners in Kenya 

to pray and work for peace on the first of each month.

In addition to the references listed below, I was inspired to investigate and write about this issue after reading two papers by Fr. Frank Breen, MM on Patriarchy and Single Mothers in Kenya.

https://allafrica.com/stories/202007190050.html
http://parliament.go.ke/sites/default/files/2019-09/The%20Care%20and%20Protection%20of%20Child%20Parents%20Bill%2C%202019.pdf
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/24/tanzania-q-ban-pregnant-girls-and-world-bank-education-loan#
https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage/kenya/

01 July 2020

THE FOLLY OF FIGHTING 

IN SOUTH SUDAN

In March, 2020 Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, called for a cessation of all fighting globally.  He stated, “The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war.  It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.”1

South Sudan has been identified as the most dangerous country to reside in during the Covid 19 pandemic by The Deep Knowledge Group in Hong Kong. This 250-page document, entitled Covid-19 Safety Assessment Regional Breakdown,2 is based on 130 qualitative and quantitative parameters with 11,400 data points. They conclude that South Sudan is unable to react quickly to any crisis, has no high levels of preparation for emergencies or quarantine efficiency and lacks resiliency in the economy to withstand the impact of the epidemic. 3

Sr. Esperance Bamiriyo, a Comboni Missionary Sister in Wau, South Sudan could support this assessment.  She reports that in April, approximately 7000 civilians occupied the grounds near the Catholic Cathedral.  They had taken refuge because they feared militias and paramilitary forces.  However, the fear that Covid 19 would rapidly spread in the congested living quarters led people to reluctantly return to their homes.  When they arrived home, they lacked food and shelter with the rainy season quickly approaching.  As they struggled to collect firewood and begin farming many were attacked and killed. 1

State authorities continue to fail to protect civilians and end conflicts.  The UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, condemned violence in Jongelei State which occurred on 16 May 2020.  From January to March 2020 intercommunal fighting was the main source of violence against civilians and caused at least 65 cases of sexual assault, 452 injuries, 592 abductions and 658 deaths. These conflicts stem from a long history of fighting over natural resources which include water and grazing for cattle.  More recently, they involve military tactics and weapons. 4 

The South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) strongly condemned this violence in a statement issued on 17 June 2020.  “We call for immediate cessation of hostilities and formation of State and Local governments.  We also appeal in the name of God to all our political leaders to value people over and above position, power and party interests.”

To that end, the formation of governments in the 10 states was announced the same day.  President Kiir will nominate governors for the six states of Lakes, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Eastern and Central Equatoria, Warrap and Unity States. Vice President Machar who leads the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In Opposition will nominate for Western Equatoria, Western Bahr El Ghazal and Unity states.  The South Sudan Opposition Allliance will nominate for Jongelei State. 5

However, leaders are unlikely to respond to the plea of the SSCC to value people over other interests.  A report entitled Making a Killing 6 was published in May 2020 by The Sentry as part of its series entitled The Taking of South Sudan 7.  Independence was granted from Sudan on 9^th July 2011 and this document details how government leaders have co-opted government institutions, looted resources and ignited civil war in 2013.  That conflict continued until February 2020 when President Kiir and Vice President Machar agreed to form a unity government.  The corruption outlined is repeatedly linked to international corporations, foreign banks and governments.  The constraints of such a large and tightly woven web of criminal activity will require more than a change of heart on the part of these leaders.

Regarding health care, a policy brief produced by the Sudd Institute analyzes mortality in the pandemic and concludes that South Sudan is “one of the least hit countries in the region”.  It claims the country performs 7^th among 11 regional countries and ranks 6^th out of 11 for lowest number of deaths per 100,000 population.  Yet, it admits that testing is inadequate and “is likely to have resulted in this rosy picture”.8 With inadequate testing such a ‘picture’ is inaccurate.  For South Sudan to effectively confront this pandemic it must institute effective testing, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine measures as recommended by the World Health Organization.  Treatment of Covid 19 has caused so much pressure on the government that David Shearer, the UN Special Representative on South Sudan, has briefed the UN Security Council that the entire health care system could easily collapse and lead to even more deaths. 9

South Sudan needs a fully functioning government and peace.  Otherwise, the folly of fighting will unleash the fury of the virus.

Faith in Action: On 9^th July 2020 South Sudan will celebrate nine years of independence from Sudan.  Join in prayer for peace and protection during this time of pandemic: https://www.solidarityfriends.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/independencedayprayer2020_eng.pdf

INDEPENDENCE USA
04 JULY

LET US ALL PRAY AND WORK FOR PEACE

1.      https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/coronavirus/coronavirus/news/covid-19-worsens-danger-hardships-people-face-conflict-zones

2.      https://www.dkv.global/covid-19/all-regions

3.      https://eyeradio.org/s-sudan-ranked-dangerous-in-the-world-for-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR0iCXqWqf3hwnm8W_pHBsPAdXnKnAFx888grGAnIV4vrW0ERMnJhF8E4c8
4.   https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/05/1064792

5.      https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/south-sudan-s-parties-agree-on-state-allocations

6.     file:///C:/Users/susan/Documents/MOGC/NewsNotes%20articles/2020%20JULY/MakingAKilling-summary.pdf

7.      https://thesentry.org/reports/taking-south-sudan/

8.   https://www.suddinstitute.org/assets/Publications/5ef1d02870a0b_TheCOVIDMortalityInSouthSudan_Full.pdf

9.      https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1066952

01 June 2020

Staff MOGC
Washington DC 02 June 2020

FEAST OF THE UGANDAN MARTYRS

03 JUNE 2020

     Today we remember 22 young Ugandan men who gave their lives in 1886 rather than submit to the immoral demands of the Kabaka who was the Baganda King.  Living in Illinois, I can only report on peaceful active resistance by the staff of Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns (MOGC) in Washington D.C.  Wishing I could be with them, I share these stories. MOGC staff participated in a faith-based solidarity vigil held Tueday evening in a multi-cultural neighborhood two miles from the White House.

St. John Paul II Shrine

As quoted in HuffPost... "Susan Gunn, director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, a Catholic ministry, helped to organize a prayer vigil outside the (St. John Paul II National) shrine. After watching videos of what had happened at St. John’s Church the night before, Gunn said the vigil was planned to be “far enough away that we felt safe from overly aggressive police tactics to move a crowd and yet close enough to see the presidential motorcade.” “We wanted to pray for healing for those who are grieving and for our fractured communities, and we wanted to share our message of solidarity and love in a public way,” Gunn said of the vigil.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/catholic-bishop-trump-shrine_n_5ed6746bc5b68a110026b4fb

Let's draw on the strength and courage of those martyrs we remember today to live the Gospel more faithfully and fan destructive flames into peaceful tongues of flame of the Holy Spirit.

Minneapolis fires

FLAMES
01 JUNE 2020

     Here in the USA it seems like everything is going wrong.  Our cities are burning and people are dying from violence rather than the Covid 19 virus that has caused so much fear this past month.  Yesterday, the Governor of Illinois relaxed restrictions on opening houses of worship after Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh ordered Illinois to respond to three lawsuits brought by churches.  The Governor's plan for 5 phases to reopen the state has been amended to only suggest guidelines for opening houses of worship.  These will not be mandatory.

     Meanwhile, our County of Champaign is battling 27 outbreaks and we know that with re-openings of churches and other public spaces the virus will spread and put people like my 87 year old mother and myself more at risk.  We will continue to follow evidence based guidelines which is what I used to develop the public health principles below.  Up until now, I relied on the CDC as a site for credible guidance.  However, the guidelines that the CDC gave for houses of worship last week have been changed by the White House.  That site has been censored and now carries less accurate information.  Even the National Institute of Health is under the review of the White House and can also be censored.  I am searching for an evidenced based source of information to guide our future progress during the pandemic.

COVID 19 PANDEMIC

THE BASICS OF PUBLIC HEALTH

JUNE 1, 2020

This summary of primary principles is to help each of us prepare to serve the common good as this pandemic unfolds.  New information will become available with time and the one website to follow is https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

1.       YOU MAY BE AN ASYMPTOMATIC CARRIER.  PROTECT OTHERS FROM TRANSMISSION

·         Masks are far more effective than previously realized.  Wear one whenever you are inside with people you don’t live with.  It shows that you don’t want to unknowingly infect others.  https://masks4all.co/

·         Those of us who must be in contact with people whom we don’t live with are more likely to be silent spreaders.  That includes all health care workers, first responders such as police, ambulance or other vehicle drivers, and service personnel like grocery store clerks, vendors, receptionists and faith leaders.

2.       KNOW THE SYMPTOMS OF COVID 19 - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

·         Cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, Fever

·         Chills, muscle pain, new loss of sense of taste or smell, sore throat

·         In addition to the OFFICAL symptoms above there are other symptoms like fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea

3.       CALL 911 or YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER IF YOU HAVE SERIOUS SYMPTOMS LIKE

·         Trouble breathing

·         Persistent pain or chest pressure

·         Confusion

·         Bluish lips

·         Inability to awaken or stay awake

4.       IF YOU ARE IN A COMMUNITY THAT IS NOT DOING PHYSICAL DISTANCING AND YOU HAVE A COMORBID OR VULNERABLE CONDITION AVOID THE FOLLOWING OR TAKE SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS - https://www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them

·         HOME – If you live with a person who is vulnerable and you frequent the places listed below you can bring the infection to the home where transmission is the highest.

·         Places of worship – a confined space and singing encourages transmission

·         Public transport

·         Funerals, Weddings, parties of any kind

·         Restaurants

·         Work places – especially meat packing plants, call centers

·         Indoor sports – especially in cool environments

·         https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.04.20053058v1 - There is only 1 documented outbreak in an outside environment involving 2 persons

5.       IDENTIFICATION – testing is lacking in most places in the world

·         If your health care provider gives you a clinical diagnosis OR

·         If you can get a test and it is positive - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/testing/index.html

·         you must isolate yourself at home. ISOLATION separates people who are infected from people who are not known to be infected - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html

·         If you do not have a health care provider, there is a self-checker for both inside and outside the USA to help you make the diagnosis at this site https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html

6.       CONTACT TRACING – the isolated person must identify all persons contacted 48 hours before the onset of symptoms or the positive test to include the following

·         People with whom they spent more than 15 minutes (Singapore) or 30 minutes (USA)

·         At a distance of less than 6 feet = 2 metres

·         All contacts must be tested or interviewed for symptoms

·         If the contact tests positive or is given a clinical diagnosis the contact must be ISOLATED.  The purpose of isolation is to prevent transmission from an infected person to those who are not yet known to be infected.

·         If the contact is not diagnosed, they must be QUARANTINED.  The purpose of quarantine is to keep someone who has been EXPOSED away from others before they show signs of illness to stop transmission of the virus https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/quarantine-isolation.html

7.       IDENTIFICATION, ISOLATION, CONTACT TRACING AND QUARANTINE

·         These are the pillars of proceeding through a pandemic while there is no effective treatment or a vaccine.

·         The Infection Rate (IR) or the Reproductive Rate (Ro) is an indication of the transmissibility of a virus.  It tells you how many people an infected person can infect on average.  If it is > 1 the infection is increasing.  An IR of 1.1 indicates an outbreak.  The IR of Covid is estimated to be 3.28 and that is why it is called a super spreader. https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article/27/2/taaa021/5735319

·         Isolation and contact tracing work well at the beginning or end of an outbreak.  It requires many people or clever use of technology to perform.  When an outbreak gets out of control the health care system is overwhelmed.

·         Mitigation is then used to slow down spread, protect the most vulnerable people from becoming infected and avoid overwhelming the health care system.  This includes Stay At Home (SAH), limited movement and limited activities.

8.       ENDPOINT OF THE PANDEMIC

·         When herd or community immunity is reached.  At this point at least 80% of the population is immune to the virus, thereby protecting the remaining 20% that are still vulnerable.  This can be achieved by allowing the community to become infected and develop natural immunity (Sweden model) but many people will become so sick that they die in the process.

·         An effective vaccine that penetrates the population by providing 83-94% immunity will protect the remaining 6-17% of the population who are still vulnerable.  The earliest a vaccine will be available for production is most likely January 2021.  7 billion people will need vaccination and production and administration will take many resources and time to implement.

·         Successful progress to the endpoint requires

o   Education with honest facts supported by good quality medical science

o   Good leadership at all levels – political, religious, and cultural.

o   The public must trust leadership, follow directives and work for the common good.

Sn:01June2020

This is the library of the HOPE (Helping Orphans Purse Education) Project in Mombasa Kenya.  These children take their shoes off before they enter the library which is always crowded.  Perhaps we could learn something from their example.

THIS PENTECOST MAY YOU BE iNFLAMED WITH THE PEACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT