Geneva, Switzerland
30.03.2020.
The Lutheran World Federation calls on governments, society and churches to ensure a rapid and inclusive response to the pandemic situation
As the severe infectious disease Covid-19 continues to spread around the world, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) calls for a rapid, adequate and inclusive response that protects the rights of every person and ensures the needs of the most vulnerable people.
In its statement of 30 March, the LWF particularly emphasises concern for refugees, the homeless, people with special needs, the poor, women and children, who are exposed to discrimination and violence. Government, society and the church must work together to ensure that no one is left behind in the fight against the spread of the disease, the statement says.
The LWF calls on governments to allocate additional resources to this effort, paying “particular attention to those people for whom physical distancing and other protective measures are not available.”
The statement urges governments to lift economic and political sanctions against “countries such as Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Syria, Palestine and other countries whose internal situation makes them vulnerable in the fight against Covid-19.”
“The world needs the joint action of people and nations in order to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic,” said LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Martin Junge. “We must work together, respond quickly, never forgetting the rights and needs of those people who are the most vulnerable.”
The Lutheran World Federation statement (in English)
Source: The Lutheran World Federation news