The World Health Organization (WHO) has responded to a video of a Cameroonian medical doctor Kameni Pierre, claiming to have been healed of COVID-19 by Pastor TB Joshua via his church channel Emmanuel TV.
WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Executive Director of Health Emergencies, Dr Michael Ryan and other WHO officials were questioned about the miracle by a Cameroonian journalist Simon Ateba during an interactive media session on Wednesday, July 1.
In the video, Dr Pierre, a gynecologist and obstetrician, said he was suffering from COVID-19 and was in isolation in a hospital ward when he called in via video to receive prayer during an interactive programme on Emmanuel TV.
He displayed his COVID-19 positive medical report and while receiving prayer from Joshua, he ‘vomited out’ the disease.
Days later, he held up a medical report confirming that he was diagnosed negative to COVID-19.
“On Monday, a very popular pastor in Nigeria, T.B Joshua, released a video of a medical doctor in Cameroon who was said to have been cured of the virus through prayer,” Ateba said before the panellists for their reaction.
Responding, Dr Ryan affirmed the readiness of WHO to collaborate with bodies like The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) to advance the cause of the war against the deadly virus.
“Certainly, spiritual leadership is very important in a time like this,” Ryan said praising the role of faith-based organisations in providing accurate information to communities.
For Dr. Ghebreyesus, faith and science should “go together”.
He said: “We know many religious leaders who would really advise their followers to follow their faith and at the same time use science. The two do not contradict; they go together… We will call on all religious leaders to be in this fight and save lives.”
