Just like the popular saying goes, “A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.” It is in this light that residents in notable African communities in Canada have advised Christian pastors who claim to have the cure for Ebola to call a halt to these outrageous and thoughtless claims, reports visiting Ghanaian journalist, Edmund Agbeko.

As Canada is spending millions of dollars to fight the spread of Ebola in 3 countries in West Africa, especially with Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose announcing border agents will start using targeted temperature screens in their effort to prevent people with Ebola from entering Canada, some men of the Gospel in these Ebola infected areas in these countries are claiming to have cure for the disease.

Recently, Prophet TB Joshua, one of Nigeria’s most controversial and richest preachers according to Forbes, recently announced that he sent more than 4,000 bottles of his powerful anointing water, which users claim has worked many miracles, to help victims of the deadly Ebola virus in Sierra Leone, Liberia.

CONCERNS:

Daniel Agyemang, a Christian Ghanaian resident in Toronto said: “I am a Christian and I do believe in miracles but I will urge them [pastors] to tread carefully on this Ebola pestilence. It seems nowadays; every Tom, Dick, and Harry wants to make quick money and sees pastoring as a great avenue to get to the top.” “We have seen many fake pastors claiming to be men of God and it hurts to read all sort of awful stories about them. Can you imagine a man of God in South Africa recently, asking his congregation to eat grass, drink petrol and to eat toxic flowers?” a visibly angry Daniel asked.

Tony Obi, a Nigerian resident in Brampton praised the Nigerian health authorities for calling Prophet TB Joshua to order on his claims to have a cure for Ebola. He said: “I must commend the Nigerian authorities for asking T.B Joshua not to invite Ebola patients to the country [Nigeria] for spiritual healing. If he [T.B Joshua] claims to have the cure, can`t he simply fly to these infected areas and cure them? It’s unbelievable to hear such stories from our homeland and we pray the Nigeria authorities will be at the best in the fight against Ebola. These so called men of God just want to make money from the vulnerable in the society. ”

FACTS

As the deadly Ebola epidemic continues to wreck havoc on 3 West African countries, Canada is deeply concerned by the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in a few West Africa, which risks undermining the foundations for economic prosperity, security and social stability in these countries. The Government of Canada has therefore taken a number of actions to date to help bring the outbreak under control.

These include financial contributions in support of humanitarian assistance by international and Canadian organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Médecins Sans Frontières and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Story by Edmund Agbeko [ edagbeko@gmail.com] with additional information from the African Press Organization