According to Open Doors World Watch Research, data indicates a direct correlation between the countries in sub-Saharan Africa that are most vulnerable to the virus and the countries where Christians face the most pressure for following Jesus. Specifically, four of the five most virus-vulnerable countries—the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Sudan and Cameroon—also count among the places in sub-Saharan Africa where life is hardest for Christians.

Though the 54 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are in their early days of the coronavirus pandemic, persecuted Christians are already feeling the effects. For Christians who are already persecuted, the pandemic gives way to even more ways believers can be discriminated against, exploited and attacked for their faith.

Recently, Open Doors met with Rev. John Joseph Hayab in northern Nigeria, who shared how the pandemic is doubling vulnerability for believers: “We are facing persecution because of our faith and we are also facing a global pandemic,” he says. “We run away from our persecution … or we run away from the global sickness that we are facing. We have a double problem.

“But in all this, we still come back to remember the Word of Jesus: ‘Be ye of good cheers, for I have overcome the world.’ But He didn’t start with that; He says: ‘In this world you will have many troubles.’ This is another additional trouble we are facing.”

You can read here about the impact of COVID-19 on persecuted believers in Africa.