More engagements with churches needed: Officer

A HEALTH worker in the National Capital District (NCD) says she believes more engagements with churches will help reduce misinformation on the Covid-19 vaccine. NCD health authority’s risk communication and community engagement team leader Rhonda Tisap said her team had been conducting awareness in different parts of the city. “I believe there will be a breakthrough when these two groups of people – churches and health workers – are fully engaged in the battle against the Covid-19,” she said during an advocacy meeting with churches on Tuesday. “I feel like this is a breakthrough.”About 30 church leaders, mostly from Pentecostal and Evangelical churches, attended the advocacy meeting which covered vaccine and other related topics. “The advocacy is in light of the high hesitancy against Covid-19 vaccine in the country,” Tisap said. She and her team encouraged the church leaders to disseminate correct information to the people. Ps Jack Edward, from Shema Evangelism Ministry, asked the health advocacy team on how church leaders could be involved so they could get information to their congregation members.He asked the presenters if they could attend one of his radio programmes on Wantok Radio Light and share information that they had shared with the church leaders so the information reached more people.Agape Interdenominational Ministry’s Ps Daniel Hewali said the confusion over the Covid-19 vaccine was caused by misinformation, but the awareness that was being conducted by the Health Department and its partners would help people make informed decisions.“I am not saying that people will go for vaccination, it is their choice, but they have been given information to base their choices on,’’ he said.