Director of Int'l Youth Empowerment and Rehabilitation Centre (IYERC)
Mobile: 08076635886
Nothing in this world
is as important as good health. A healthy world is indeed a wealthy world. No
wonder, Good Health and Wellbeing is among the seventeen Sustainable
Development Goals. Incidentally, April 7th happens to be World Health Day. The
theme of this year's WHD is "Universal Health Coverage: Everyone,
Everywhere." This theme must have been inspired by the ideology of people
like Plato who declares, that "The part can never be well unless the whole
is well."
Universal Health Coverage is therefore the means
of ensuring that everyone, everywhere can have access to quality health care
and services without any financial or political hindrance.
Reflecting on this year's World Health Day I kept wondering if Nigeria is
among the UN countries that promotes universal Health coverage. If yes, why
then do we have to fly our politicians and even their children to London and
other parts of the world for medical treatment?
Why are the citizens of this great nation dying on daily basis due to
poor medical treatment and facilities? When will Nigeria and other countries in
Africa have a reliable medical facilities that can take care of its citizens
irrespective of their status or political affiliation?
Politicians are not the only ones that have failed in medical
care. Most Religious Leaders are taking health care ministry for granted.
Whereas few healing ministers are using it as an avenue to make money. In most
healing centers people pay through their noise to acquire olive oil and
'anointed water.' Whereas our Lord Jesus Christ told his disciples, "Cure
the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You
received without payment; give without payment" (Matthew 10:8). Health
care ministry must be available and affordable. If the government fails in
providing health care for the people the Church ministers should not fail.
Jesus Christ did not just declare Healing for all or what we may call
universal health coverage, he actually demonstrated it in his healing ministry.
His healing ministry was not limited to specific people. Everyone, including
the rich and the poor, young and old, benefitted from his healing ministry. The
gospel of Matthew 12:15 declares,
"Great multitudes followed Him, and He
healed them all." All the sick, without exception, who encountered
him received their healing.
The Holy
Father declares “Health care ministry will always be a necessary and
fundamental task, to be carried out with renewed enthusiasm by all, from parish
communities to the largest healthcare institutions... Doctors and nurses,
priests, consecrated men and women, volunteers, families and all those who care
for the sick, take part in this ecclesial mission.” (Pope Francis). Indeed, all
hands must be on deck! Most men of God are even ignorant of this. That is why
majority of them see healing ministry as "bubu-yaya." Thereby
discouraging those who have the gift of healing. The Holy Father insists that Health
care ministry is a necessary and fundamental task, which everyone must be
involved.
Universal Health Coverage or what I may call healing for all is the
essence of the healing ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. There were so many
passages in the Christian Bible where Jesus Christ declared healing for all (universal
health coverage). His healing ministry was not limited to specific people. The
rich and the poor, the old and the young - they all benefitted from his healing
ministry. For instance, The evangelist Matthew wrote, "When evening had
come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits
with a word, and healed all who were sick"
(Matthew 8:16). According to this passage all the sick people who were brought
to Jesus that evening received their healing. None of them went home with their
sickness. Even those who were possessed received their deliverance.
The gospel of Mark presents our Lord Jesus Christ as one who reaches
out to people, especially the sick. He
did not just wait for people to bring the sick ones to where he reside. As he
was moving around he was healing the sick. "Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or
the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged
Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as
many as touched Him were
made well" (Mark 6:56). People brought to Jesus all kinds of sicknesses.
As they touched him they were all restored to good health.
Unlike
Mark who said that People were the ones struggling to touch Jesus, for Luke it
was actually our Lord Jesus Christ that touched the sick: "When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick
with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and
healed them." (Luke 4:40). As our Lord Jesus Christ was laying
his hands on the sick, their sicknesses disappeared. They were all healed!
When the people eventually discovered that our Lord Jesus
Christ possessed the healing power they were following him up and down: "But when the multitudes knew it, they
followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God,
and healed those who had need of healing." (Luke
9:11) Seeing the sick crowed coming after him, Jesus did not rebuke them. Instead,
He received them, preached to them and then delivered them from their
infirmities.
Health care is among the few mandates that our Lord Jesus Christ gave
his disciples. According to him, healing and deliverance is the sign of a true believer: "these signs will
accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will
speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in
their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them;
they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18). A true disciple is not one who has the highest
academic qualification. He is not the one with the highest ecclesiastical
position or authority. A true disciple
is one who uses the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to preach and bring healing
to the sick.
The early apostles used the name of Jesus Christ to bring
healing to the sick and the afflicted. A typical example is the case of Peter and
the crippled man at the Beautiful gate. When Peter saw the crippled man, he did
not ignore him. Instead he looked intently at him said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his
attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But
Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” And he took him by
the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made
strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple
with them, walking and leaping and praising God. (Acts 3:5-8). Imagine, with
an ordinary command in the name of Jesus Christ the crippled man started walking.
It's amazing!
This is what is expected of every authentic Man
of God. The name of our Lord Jesus Christ is the channel of healing,
deliverance and restoration. With his name we can heal the sick ones in our
midst and we can even heal our sick world. We can use the name of Jesus Christ to
heal the various sicknesses that are ravaging the lives of people across the
world today.
Finally, heaven helps those who help
themselves. Dear reader, good health is the best gift you can give yourself. You
need to take good care of yourself. You don't necessarily have to wait for the
government of the Church ministers before you could take proper medication. As
Josh Billings rightly declares, “Health is like money, we never have a true
idea of its value until we lose it.” You don't need to breakdown before
visiting the doctors or spiritual directors. A Spanish proverb declares “A man
too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of
his tools.” Negligence of your health is the worst thing you can do to
yourself.
Apart from going to hospital or healing centers,
there are few simple things you can do to help yourself live a healthy life.
According to William Londen “To insure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply,
live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.”
In addition, A Irish Proverb declares “A good laugh and a long sleep are
the best cures in the doctor’s book.” With this, you shall begin to enjoy
health of mind and body which Cardinal Newman describes as a great blessing: “Health
of body and mind is a great blessing, if we can bear it” (John Henry
Cardinal Newman). There is no reason whatsoever why we cannot bear it!
I want to
use this medium to express my appreciation to all those who are providing
health care either as medical doctors, non-governmental organizations,
government and healing ministers. And I also use this medium to appeal to all,
especially the government and non-governmental organizations to provide
healthcare for all the citizens, especially those who are living at the rural
areas and those who may not afford foreign medical treatments. God bless you as
you provide healthcare facilities and treatments for the sick. And I wish you a very Happy World Health Day!
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