EDITORIAL COMMENT
Not so long ago we were living a normal life: going about our daily business, school, and work, interacting in diverse circumstances. As we present this edition of our bulletin, Coronavirus has changed everything. A disease that the World Health Organization has declared a pandemic. COVID-19 pandemic travel and movement restrictions are having a devastating impact on livelihoods for vulnerable societies and Zambia has not been spared. Like many other countries globally, Zambia reported its first case on the 18th March 2020, initially as imported cases into the country, but over time the trend has changed as we are witnessing an increase in local transmission. The disease is spreading very fast, taking its toll on many sector operations across the country, and we as an organisation have not been spared. With a majority of civil society organisations no longer able to work with their local communities, due to various reasons such as the uncertainty over financing necessary to carry on with supporting local communities in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and just the general safety of both staff and community members.
This is extremely worrying and needs concerted efforts to ensure that we keep supporting communities, especially the most vulnerable. It is evident that Covid-19 will have far more reaching consequences on our society and the operations of many organisations such as ours going forward. Caritas Zambia with the support of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) in anticipating some of the potential effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has continued to undertake activities towards responding to the pandemic under the new normal and set out guidelines. This edition gives you a sneak pick into what the church, through the conference, is doing to respond to the covid_19 pandemic and how it is complementing government efforts. Remember that together we can win the fight. Maintain hygiene by washing our hands with soap and running water, using an alcohol-based sanitizer and remember to musk up!
Download the entire Caritas Zambia News Bulleting, 2020 – 1st Edition here: https://caritaszambia.org/phocadownload/general/Caritas-Zambia-News-Bulletin-2020-1st-Edition.pdf
