The Muslim World League (MWL) confirmed that the efforts to confront the COVID-19 pandemic stem from the Islamic values with their comprehensive humanity without discrimination.
The organization explained that its efforts include distributing in-kind assistance in direct coordination with governments, medical equipment for health institutions, and food aid for vulnerable groups while working to spread preventive awareness to more than 30 countries around the world.
WHO hosted the "Global Solidarity Conference to Confront the Coronavirus Pandemic" in Geneva. The conference was attended by the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom and Jagan Chapagain, secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and the World Council of Churches as well leaders of major international organizations, and many government representatives and civil figures. The event was moderated by the former Prime Minister of Norway, Kjell Bondevik.
The participants stressed the important role of the religious leaders in raising the awareness of societies about dealing with the pandemic, especially the initiative to take vaccines.
In the opening speech, MWL Sec-Gen Mohammed al-Issa said that the outstanding efforts of WHO in reducing the suffering from COVID-19 are seen as part of the distinguished efforts to achieve world peace.
He stressed that the efforts "created this peace by closely following up on the developments of (COVID-19) and providing effective instructions, which has greatly alleviated the suffering from this pandemic".
He indicated that the world would not be able to confront this pandemic except through its serious cooperation.
"Societies around the world would not have been able to cooperate in the battle against the pandemic except through awareness among individuals and institutions, which was encouraged through deliberate programs and effective laws in light of the advice and guidance of the WHO."
He also discussed the importance of immunization, especially in developing countries, saying that vaccine hesitancy can be addressed through influential figures and effective laws.
MWL chief proposed creating a universal health passport authorized by the WHO so that countries around the world could forbid entry to travelers who have not received vaccines.
Issa also reviewed the efforts of the MWL since the beginning of the pandemic, starting from its headquarters in Makkah.
He said that these efforts included "material aid in direct coordination with governments, as well as medical equipment for health institutions and food aid for vulnerable groups."
He added: "We have helped wealthy European countries that at the time of the pandemic needed support after their health system was on the verge of collapse, which made this pandemic bear important lessons for us that we still benefit from every day."
He pointed out that some ideas seemingly based on religion, whether among some Muslims or others, sometimes formed a barrier against taking vaccinations.
"We have done what we needed to do to raise awareness, especially educating influential religious leaders, in cooperation with our partners in countries that required intervention to help, among the last of these programs, was the Imams for Vaccine Program, which depends on motivating everyone to take vaccinations and clarifying to them the religious misconceptions," he said.
Issa asserted the importance of the equitable distribution of vaccines for everyone's immunity against the threat of this pandemic.
For his part, the WHO director-general indicated that the pandemic would end when "we all decide to put an end to it, as we, cooperating together, have the decision to do so, and we have all the tools that help us to prevent covid, conduct tests and treat this virus."
He explained that many regions and countries are witnessing a sharp rise in infections and deaths due to Covid-19 because of the high rate of social contact and mobility, lack of health and social precautions, the emergence of rapidly transmitting mutants, and inequality in the availability of vaccines.
Adhanom stressed that the causes of the spread are not related to epidemiology but rather to social, political, and economic dynamics, where misleading information dominated science.
The Acting General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Professor. Ioan Sauca called for maintaining dialogue and cooperation at the global level against this pandemic, stressing that the main lesson we have learned from this pandemic is our common fragility and our common destiny as one humankind.
The Secretary-General of IFRC, Jagan Chapagain, spoke about the crises facing the world today, stressing that there is no way to confront these crises except through a united front that includes religious institutions, the public sector, and society as a whole.
He explained that the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequality and worsened humanitarian conditions around the world, adding that travel and trade restrictions have also hampered global solidarity to alleviate humanitarian conditions.
However, they have also demonstrated the strength of local communities to come together and leverage their resources to meet their needs.
