By JOHN SAKALA
Zambian’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Lt. Gen. Paul Mihova (Rtd) has appealed to Zambians in the diaspora to raise awareness back home in Zambia on the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic to help dispel the notion that the pandemic is a hoax.
Addressing Zambians during a Zoom virtual meeting that was organized by Zambians Together in partnership with the Zambian High Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources on the theme “buying Land in Zambia”, Lt Gen Mihova made a passionate appeal for Zambians both home and abroad to heed to government advice and guidelines designed to curb the impact and spread of the Covid-19.
The High Commissioner said Zambians in the United Kingdom have witnessed how the Coronavirus has claimed lives and left devasting scars on families and friends.
“Let me make an earnest appeal to the diaspora to raise awareness back home on COVID-19 to help overcome the notion obtaining in some quarters which are frustrating government efforts by saying that COVID-19 is a hoax. Some sections of the diaspora have seen how devastating COVID-19 has affected the communities we are living in, who then is better placed than you who are out there to raise awareness so that the efforts that our government is putting in place are adhered to,” he said.
The High Commissioner also said that the UK government has been able to contain the mortality rate because people followed government regulations.
He further applauded the work and contributions made by front line staff in the fight against the pandemic, “Let me take this opportunity to thank all the frontline heroes who go out every day to work and come back thinking they have been exposed to the virus but still wake up the next day and go in for work
knowing that their lives are at risk, but because of the dedication and commitment to duty, they still go in to save lives. Please let us follow what the
government is saying so that we can help protect our Doctors and Nurses in our hospitals. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is the fact that, only through global solidarity will countries and the world effectively defeat covid-19,” he said.
Zambians Together is a collaborative initiative working closely together with the Zambia High Commission and various Zambian Community Associations and Networks across the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) and the Republic of Ireland. Zambians Together is a non-profit organization setup as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic to help provide a one stop shop for the UK and Ireland Zambian community to communicate, collaborate, donate, raise awareness and unite with the purpose of providing the help and support that the Zambian community requires during the Covid-19 pandemic and to continue with the initiative post Covid-19.
This is according to a media statement made available to The Independent Observer by Press and Public Relations at the Zambian Embassy in UK Abigail Chaponda.
