COVID-19 is posing potential catastrophic impacts on people living with HIV and tuberculosis (TB) , with projected deaths to increase up to 10, 20 and 36 per cent for HIV, TB and malaria patients, respectively, over the next five years, according to UNAIDS, the UN agency dedicated to tackling the virus.

“Countries must ensure that everyone is able to receive essential services, including health care, and they must invest adequately in social protection programmes to keep people safe and to shield them from the consequences of losing their livelihoods,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

The most impacted

The highly disadvantaged will be most gravely impacted, particularly those in countries already afflicted by conflict, economic or climate crises. 

And refugees are among the groups facing the greatest dangers. 

At the same time, some 150 million full-time jobs were lost in the first quarter of the year and millions of other people are set to lose their livelihoods in the months ahead.

“Today, only 29 per cent of the world’s population has access to adequate social protection coverage,” said Guy Ryder, Director General of the International Labour Organization (ILO). 

“Governments must act to ensure the sustainability of livelihoods, businesses and jobs and the protection of workers’ health, rights and incomes during and after COVID-19”.

A case for women

Women are particularly vulnerable to the economic crisis. 

Disproportionately employed in the informal sectors, they are most likely to lose their incomes. 

Comprising 70 per cent of the health and social care workforce, they are also often employed on the frontline of the COVID-19 response.

Furthermore, women carry out the bulk of unpaid domestic duties in the home, childcare and other caring functions.

And with the lockdown triggering and increase in gender-based violence, it is imperative for Governments to invest in social protection programmes designed specifically for women and girls, UNAIDS said.

Countries need to live up to their commitment for social protection for everyone who needs it — UNICEF chief

Youth in crosshairs

School closures, which have affected more than 90 per cent of the world’s student population, have not only interrupted education but also pupils’ access to crucial social services, such as school meals.

“Children and young people are suffering disproportionately from the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis,” said Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF. 

“Before the outbreak, two-out-of-three children had no or inadequate social protection fund.” 

Moreover, the socio-economic crash caused by the pandemic is placing an entire generation of young people at risk. 

“Countries need to live up to their commitment for social protection for everyone who needs it,” she added.

Call for action

The call for Governments to invest adequately in social protection programmes is endorsed by UNAIDS, UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO) and supported by the World Food Programme (WFP), the Office of the  UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank.

By Devin Watkins

The memorial to victims of Nazism and Stalinism cuts right to the heart of the tiny Catholic Church in Estonia.

The EU member state’s first Catholic bishop following the Reformation was deported to the Soviet Union in 1942. Archbishop Eduard Profittlich died in a Soviet prison in hatred of the faith, like many other Estonians.

The nation recalled those numerous victims with a solemn ceremony in the capital, Tallinn, on Sunday.

Bishop Philippe Jourdan, the Apostolic Administrator of Estonia, spoke to Vatican Radio about the Day of Remembrance.

Tributes to fallen family members

Bishop Jourdan said the ceremony took place at the new Memorial to the Victims of Communism.

The names of 22,000 Estonians are inscribed there, in tribute to their deaths during the deportations of 1940.

“For a small country like Estonia, that’s quite a lot,” said Bishop Jourdan. “In almost every Estonian family there is at least one person who died.”

The Soviet Union occupied Estonia in June 1940, and vast numbers of people were deported, many because they were ethnic Germans.

Refusing to flee

Archbishop Eduard Profittlich was one of the unfortunate ones. He had received orders from Soviet authorities to return to Germany.

But he refused to abandon his Catholic flock, and chose to stay in Tallinn, despite the obvious risks.

Archbishop Profittlich was arrested on 27 June 1941 and sent to a Soviet prison camp. He died from exposure and starvation in Kirov prison on February 22, 1942.

Bishop Jourdan noted that his predecessor’s cause for beatification is currently under review in Rome.

“I would say it is coming along at a good pace,” he said, “because we received the ‘Decree of Validity’ from the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints in June.”

That means the documents which have been gathered over the past 17 years regarding the Servant of God Profittlich are sufficient and complete.

Recognizing tragic moment in history

Bishop Jourdan expressed his hopes that the Pope will one day clear the way for Profittlich’s beatification.

“It’s important for the Catholic Church here in Estonia, because he would be our first saint,” he said.

Since Archbishop Profittlich shared in the tragic fate of so many Estonians, his beatification would mean quite a lot to even secular Estonian society.

“It’s a way for the universal Church to recognize what happened here in those years,” he concluded. “It’s important for all our families that this part of our history would be recognized.”

By Vatican News

The newly formed Vatican John Paul I Foundation released a statement on Wednesday. It states that on the 42nd anniversary of Pope John Paul I’s pontificate, they are pleased to communitate the members of the Foundation’s Ccientific Committee.

These persons were appointed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State and President of the new Foundation, during a meeting of the Administrative Board that took place on 3 July.

The people who make up this Scientific Committee will serve for a five-year period.

Dr Stefania Falasca, Vice President of the Foundation, will coordinate the new Scientific Committee which is made up of:

• Professor Carlo Ossola, Philology Professor, Collège de France, Paris

• Professor Dario Vitali, Director of the Department of Dogmatic Theology, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome

• Msgr. Gilfredo Marengo, Vice President of Rome’s Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences

• Professor Mauro Velati, collaborator of the John XXIII Foundation for Religious Sciences and the cause of canonization of John Paul I relating to the Venetian years.

• Fr Diego Sartorelli, Director of the Library and Historical Archive of the Patriarchate of Venice

• Dr Loris Serafini, Archivist, Director of the Albino Luciani Museum in Canale d’Agordo

The statement also reads that the Prefect of the Vatian’s Apostolic Archives, Bishop Sergio Pagano, and the Prefect of the Vatican’s Apostolic Library, Fr Cesare Pasini, will also play a role on the Scientific Committee.

By Vatican News

Speaking to reporters, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said, “[We] respectfully request our spiritual leaders to bring this much-needed message of hope to our suffering countrymen in order to stave off more incidents of self-destruction.”

The Justice Secretary, who is also a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), said they had asked the  Catholic Church and other denominations for their assistance to provide counseling and guidance to those suffering from depression and distress as the pandemic continues.

Minister Guevarra said he had spoken with Secretary Carlito Galvez, chief implementer of the IATF national task force, about “the alarming increase in the number of suicides during these pandemic times.”

Challenging times

The rise in suicides and depression is being blamed on the economic fallout due to the pandemic.  The period of lockdown has also led to feelings of isolation and anxiety.

The World Health Organisation describes mental health as “a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and can make a contribution to his or her community.”

According to the WHO, there has been a drastic increase in mental health disorders in the country since the start of the outbreak.

In a recent study, the health body said, “Thinking of whether life will ever return to normal, and how one will survive amid the pandemic, are some of the questions making ordinary Filipinos very anxious.”

“Likewise, questions like how will one survive economically and financially amid a pandemic; the sudden changes in everyday life and how to cope with them; the unremitting fear of being infected, the fear of dying from the virus, or the fear that a family member or relative might be infected with COVID-19 and die, and the fear of not being able to receive medical treatment in time are also playing on the minds of many Filipinos.”

As part of its public health response, WHO says it “has worked with partners to develop a set of new materials on the mental health and psychosocial support aspects of COVID-19.”

Covid Hopeline already in place

One diocese that is already providing assistance to those struggling with anxiety and depression in these uncertain times is the Diocese of Kaloohan in Metro Manila which has set up a phone in counseling service known as “Covid Hopeline”.

During the months of lockdown in the Philippines, the National Centre for Mental Health reported a significant increase in the number of people experiencing mental health issues as a result of the pandemic.