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An in-depth look at the coronavirus pandemic in Togo
Last Updated: 03/23/2021
As of March 3, Togo had 1,189 active cases of COVID-19 and 85 related deaths. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Togo is at Level 3 for COVID-19, meaning the risk of virus transmission is high. The country received 636,000 vaccine doses from the World Health Organization for the first half of 2021. Stores, markets, restaurants and bars are open although most religious services and churches remain closed. Everyone must adhere to preventive measures such as hand-washing, masking and social distancing, at all times and in all places. Most Compassion centers in Togo have been able to safely resume meeting in small groups, abiding by local guidelines. A very small number have resumed normal activities. Partner church staff continue to make regular home visits to monitor the health of children and families, deliver curricula and pray with them. Staff members have been able to safely deliver over 489,000 food packs and 312,000 hygiene kits to families, in addition to providing medical support to more than 61,000 individuals.
Below, you will find the latest information on how Compassion is currently operating in Togo, including status updates on center openings, letter delivery and gift delivery. This is the most current information we have, though it can change quickly. Please know that all children and their families are being checked in on regularly by staff, either in person or by phone, even if the Compassion center is not open for programming.
Compassion centers in Togo are all open with the majority meeting in small groups. Staff at partner churches continue to make home visits. Because of the generous support of sponsors and donors, staff members have been able to safely deliver over 489,000 food packs and 312,000 hygiene kits to families!
Gifts continue to be distributed in Togo. Staff members have been given the option to disburse monetary gifts to an appropriate, verified caregiver, if necessary. This applies to family gifts and child gifts (including birthday and final gifts). Families may spend the gift on whatever they consider most important to meet family needs. The caregiver will be notified whether a gift has been designated as a child gift or family gift. The caregiver will decide the best use of the money, recognizing that sometimes purchasing food or paying rent is in the best interest of a child.
Letters are currently being delivered in Togo, although delivery to and from your child may take a bit longer than normal. We encourage you to continue writing your child, as all children need words of hope and encouragement now more than ever before. Thank you for your ministry!
Every day, hundreds of thousands of children contract malaria. But when malaria strikes a child in the midst of a pandemic, every decision about his care and treatment becomes complicated and costly.
When the pandemic first struck Togo, 9-year-old Wisdom was living with his grandmother in a small village, and the family was all healthy. But one afternoon Wisdom began complaining of a fever and headache. His aunt, Akoumany, rushed him to the hospital. There, doctors told the family he would need to be taken to a larger clinic in the capital city, Lome.
"What surprised and frightened us was that it all happened in one day,” says Akoumany. “He was not sick before. Everything happened on the same day. The child couldn't speak, and he couldn't even eat."
At the hospital, the doctors diagnosed Wisdom with malaria. His condition quickly deteriorated and became life-threatening. On the third day, his kidneys stopped working. Wisdom’s family had struggled with finances before the pandemic, and now, due to COVID-19, they had lost their jobs. They were afraid of the treatment costs and feared Wisdom wouldn't be able to receive the medical care he needed. That’s when Compassion's church partner stepped in to help. Wisdom was able to receive diagnostic tests and be placed on dialysis.
After weeks in the hospital, Wisdom was finally able to return home. He remembers little about his battle with malaria, but he and his entire family will never forget the way the church stepped in.
"When I woke up, I saw that they put a lot of syringes in my body. I was very scared when I saw this,” he says. “My family didn't have any money, but Compassion saved us. They paid all the hospital fees and I'm sure the money came from the sponsors. If Compassion were not there and if I was not enrolled in the program, I would have died in this disease. Compassion gave me my life back because they did not want me to die. I have regained my joy and smile that the disease took away from me."
Pray for God’s protection and good health for the children of Togo as many of them return to school.