By Olajide Idowu
Osogbo – World Bishops’ Council (WBC) in Africa, says Africa would come out of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic with less casualties.
Bishop Seun Adeoye, the spokesman for the bishops said this in a statement on Wednesday in Osogbo, while reacting to Mrs Melina Gates, wife of Bill Gates, assertion on CNN that COVID-19 would be so devastating that dead bodies would litter streets of Africa.
According to him, the Africa Nuncio, His Eminence, Bishop Godspower Akandu, and all members of WBC, World Clergies Congress (WCC) and World Federation of Churches (WFC) reject any form of depressing and horrific comment about Africa.
He said that Africa had its problems but that Gates should not be a death propagandist.
Adeoye added that Gates must have made the assertion because of poor healthcare facilities and lack of humanitarian support in Africa.
He said that WBC, however, urged African leaders to show total commitment not only to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic but also to stop corruption by rising up to take the continent out of abject poverty and hunger.
He pleaded with Africans to be discipline and maintain high level of cleanliness, sought the face of God always and help one other to defeat not only the virus.
“But also the pessimists who gave us little or no chance of survival.”
“Gates and some key people from developed nations had said COVID-19 attack would be horrible for Africa because of our poor health care systems and lack of humanitarian support.
”It is also clear that the fight against this virus is not about robust health system or sophisticated economy going by its effect in the United States, China, Italy, France and Spain.
“We recognise several positive things Gates Foundation had done in Africa, we applaud them and we are also praying for them.
“COVID-19 is a passing phase and as a people of faith, we seek God’s intervention daily on our knees asking Him to help our world and to help Africa overcome this deadly virus.
“We declare collectively and we believe so that there will be no dead bodies littering the streets of Africa,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gates had predicted on CNN that Africa would experience the same thing happening in Ecuador where there were dead bodies lying out on the streets, if precautionary measures were not taken against COVID-19.
(NAN)