Coronavirus vaccines and Christian ethics
En français In September 2020 it was estimated that researchers were testing 40 different coronavirus vaccines in clinical trials on humans, and at least 92 preclinical vaccines were under active investigation in laboratory experiments. From a Christian perspective, perhaps we should first pause here and give thanks that God has given us, here and now…
Read MoreCovid: leadership lessons from the frontline
En français When Covid spread from urban centres to the villages of India, the country’s healthcare systems were challenged and confused. Owing to fear and uncertainty about managing within such contexts, many private healthcare providers closed their facilities. Government-run systems, which were overwhelmed and challenged even before the pandemic, struggled to respond to increasing numbers…
Read MoreCOVID-19: longer term impacts on global health
En français Most of us are increasingly aware of the direct and immediate impact of COVID-19, even though it seems to behave differently from place to place and is dependent on so many factors. But we may be less aware of the longer-term implications of COVID, and how it is affecting global health. One reason…
Read MoreFacing COVID in a remote and resource-poor location
Em português, français When I got the government order towards the end of March telling us we were to be the sole designated COVID hospital for the whole district of Simdega, I felt my heart sink. I am the senior among three doctors in a small hospital called Shanti Bhavan Medical Centre in a village…
Read MoreOur calling in the coronavirus pandemic
En français Few of us are trained to treat sick communities and continents. Unfortunately, that is our task during a pandemic. The origin of the word comes from the Greek pandemos, where pan means everyone, and demos means population. Pandemics confront us with not just one sick individual but with hundreds of thousands of ill patients. The responsible pathogen overwhelms…
Read MorePutting ‘care’ back into ‘healthcare’ after COVID-19 – a reflection
En français September has begun and, with it, the fall. Sitting here in Staten Island, I am thinking of the seasons that have ended. I am able to ‘see’ the spring and summer seasons better than I could in the chaos of the recent past. The reason is a long-needed week away at a Christian…
Read MoreFocus on what you CAN do during this pandemic
Em português, français ‘Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So, you also must be…
Read MoreThe ‘other’ suffering caused by the coronavirus
Em português, français The COVID-19 pandemic has been raging for over seven months now. It has directly killed over 800,000 people and, indirectly, caused massive losses to people who are mostly unseen. While I do not have the figures for this ‘collateral damage’, I have no doubt that it is many times more than the…
Read MoreJany Haddad – surgeon, pastor, leader, mentor and family man
En français, русский, português Jany Haddad (born Teheran, Iran, 13 March 1954, died Aleppo, Syria, 14 August 2020) ‘Doctor, we plead with you, please do not leave Aleppo, you are the salt of this land. You are the light of this city.’ So spoke Dr Jany Haddad’s Muslim patients during the dark days in Syria…
Read MoreBeing compassionate without burning out
True Christian healthcare is compassionate and comprehensive. It is centred on Jesus and his heart to heal the whole person – body, mind and spirit. As Christian doctors we try to keep this at the centre of our medical practice. But often we do not know how to take care of ourselves with the result…
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