Tanzania Leader Says Prayer Will Cure Covid

President John Magufuli of Tanzania has be accused of causing the deaths of thousands and undermining the fight against the pandemic across the continent with his denial of the local spread of Covid-19 in Tanzania.

Whilst discouraging the mentioning of the global pandemic he has also rejected most conventional measures in favour of prayer, saying vaccines are dangerous.
The Presidents views aren’t just affecting his own countries recovery from the pandemic however. Tanzania has ignored repeated requests by the World Health Organisation, to publish statistics for Covid-19 cases last doing so in May 2020

The fear is Magufuli’s policies will allow Tanzania to act as a source of infections and new variants, which could spread across Africa and beyond.

“This situation remains very concerning. Covid-19 is a serious disease that can cause severe illness and even death. National authorities everywhere must do all they can to protect people and save lives,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director general.

Zitto Kabwe, leader of the opposition ACT-Wazalendo party, said that his party had called on its members to document and report all deaths due to suspected Covid-19 so that it could hold the government to account.

“We don’t have data. There is no testing, so it’s very difficult to cut transmission. Local media have been afraid even to mention Covid-19. We just see hospitals being full” he said.