Developed Countries Urged to Help Africa More
A number of African church leaders have appealed to developed countries to step up their levels of aid and financial support to poorer countries on the African continent.
Catholic Archbishop Telesphor George Mpundu of Lusaka in Zambia called on developed countries to invest more money into the development of effective medicines and vaccinations to combat AIDS and malaria, which have killed millions on the African continent.
During a visit to Germany last week, he said that malaria was largely overlooked as one of Africa's most deadly diseases, pointing out that some 60 percent of all deaths in Zambia were from malaria.
"It is the number one killer among us. If Europe or the United States were similarly affected, the situation would be very different. But as it is, the industrial nations are indifferent, since it is only Africans who are dying," said Mpundu, according to Catholic Information Service for Africa (CISA).
He called for money earmarked for armaments to be spent on developmental aid and medical provision for poor countries instead.
The archbishop claimed that poor health was stunting economic growth in developing countries. "You can't achieve progress with sick people," he said.
Joining in the call thousands of miles away was Bishop Joseph Abangite Gasi of Tombura-Yambio in Southern Sudan, who urged developed countries to do more to help the poor and suffering in the region.
The levels of wealth in developed nations are "unimaginable" to people in Southern Sudan, he said during a visit to Australia last week to thank people there for their continued humanitarian support.
"Seeing what I have seen in Australia, you can do more – in fact, I would expect more definitely," Gasi said, according to the Archdiocese of Adelaide's newspaper The Southern Cross.
"We need moral support to continue with the peace process and the reconciliation, all the things that have happened we should remember so they don't happen again."
During his visit, the bishop also told the Sudanese community that "home is improving" despite the continued hardships and that the Sudanese Government and churches were working together to overcome the violence and tribal clashes.
While resources remain scant within Gasi's diocese, one positive area of growth remains the church. Turnout at Mass remains high and the diocese is well stocked with 50 seminarians and 400 catechists.
"Christian life is still moving; it is very vibrant in spite of the war," Gasi revealed. "In fact, the war has encouraged people to be more practicing in their religious lives, every Sunday we have a huge number of people."
Since ethnic African rebels took up arms against Sudan's Arab-dominated government 4 years ago, fighting has killed more than 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million people from their homes in Darfur.
