Religious Leaders Stewardship and COVID-19: A Sustainable Approach to Advocacy on Health Emergency Response in Kenya

Abstract

Responding to public health emergencies needs efforts from all participants. Quick mobilization of people targeted a remarkable and successful change in behavior. Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic requires a strategic, sustainable approach that causes desirable outcomes. In Africa, a remarkable number of people are religious. This allows institutions of faith to be used as a set structure to reach the right target with the right information. Through the SCOPE COVID scheme, World Relief uses an elaborate and established mechanism of collaborating with the faith leaders in its planning. A qualitative approach was the main methodology of this research. SCOPE COVID Project developed sermon guides for Christian Leaders (clergy and pastors), a guide for leaders of Muslim (imams), and also a guide for Hindu leaders, respectively entitled; ‘Does Christianity advocate for COVID-19 vaccine?’, ‘Does Hinduism advocate for COVID-19 vaccine?’, and ‘Does Islam advocate for COVID-19 vaccine?’ The guides were distributed to 490 faith leaders, Christians, and Muslims in Turkana and Kajiado counties. The trained leaders of faith were given a chance to reach out to members of their faith with COVID-19 lessons as well as other preventive preventive measures. Findings show that 490 leaders of faith were trained as trainers of trainees. In a quarter, the leaders of faith were 12,670 persons with messages about vaccines, while others suggested preventive measures. The 490 faith institutions were represented by leaders trained to enable COVID-19 measures of prevention. The results indicated that faith leaders are willing to collaborate with the government and other participants in emergency response. Leaders of faith are willing to be included in health response. It can be concluded that leaders of faith have taken their responsibility of curbing COVID-19 seriously and kept off the syndrome of poor wisdom of interpreting the scourge as punishment from God to human beings.