Resources

Released June 26, 2018  

Accounts of humanitarianism regularly address the historical influence of religious traditions and commitments in shaping our understanding of this field. Whether focused on ancient writings regarding obligations to others, the religious views and backgrounds of key humanitarian figures of the…

Mobilisation of Local Faith Communities Learning Hub Webinar: Sustainable Development Goals and role of religion and local faith communities  

Chapter exceprt from Jörg Haustein & Emma Tomalin, 'Religion and Development in Africa and Asia' in Routledge Handbook of Africa–Asia Relations ed. by Pedro Carvalho et al. London: Routledge, 2017, pp. 76-93 See also - Religions and Sustainable Development Network

Education for Refugees and the forcibly displaced Jesuit Relief Service USA

Over the past several decades, an increasing number of refugee children and families have involuntarily migrated to countries around the world to seek safety and refuge. As the refugee population increases, it is becoming more important to understand factors that…

War, conflict, political uprisings and other hardships displace countless families each year. More than half of the world’s estimated 19 million refugees are children (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], 2007). Some children grow up in refugee camps and…

The Syrian crisis has brought to the forefront the enormous challenges that families face in the context of war and displacement. To date, over 7 million people are internally displaced; at least half of those internally and externally displaced are…

In 2005 Dybicz concluded his review with: “This is how far best practice research has reached: interventions based upon theory” (p. 768). The interventions which Dybicz wrote about were aimed at serving children and adolescents living and working in the…

Several US and international migration and refugee focused organizations have recently issued a statement on the global compacts to present a framework for ongoing dialogue with policymakers and other government officials.

The Vatican's Section on Migrants and Refugees (Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development) has prepared this 20-point plan in response to the global compacts.   For more from the Vatican Migrants & Refugees Section see www.migrants-refugees.va

The Role of Local Faith Communities in Refugee Response 08.05.2018 Resources for refugee response are increasingly squeezed as the number of displaced people around the world grows. Yet within local communities there are already strong bases of diverse human, cultural…

Making the Global Compact on Refugees work for children Recommendations following Draft 1 of the Global Compact on Refugees

Interaction Between the Two Compacts is a Protection Solution Statement by the International Catholic Migration Commission Global Compact on Refugees High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Protection Challenges 12-13 December 2017 by Mantalin Kyrou, Policy Officer' Other faith-based contributions

As submitted for Formal Consultation 1

Local Faith Communities in Urban Displacement: Evidence on Urbanization and Localization Brief Author: Olivia Wilkinson Design: Stacy Nam Key points: Local faith actors should be recognized as legitimate “local,” “civil society” actors A greater familiarity with the structures of local…

HIV services provided in the country of Kenya and the percentage of those services provided by the faith-based sector.  This work was carried out as part of a Joint Initiative between the U.S President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the…

On the 20th of October 2008 over 160 religious leaders, faith-based organizations and United Nations representatives spanning the globe gathered in Istanbul, Turkey, to establish an Interfaith Network for Population and Development. The Forum featured 60 representatives of UNFPA and…

This report provides an overview of the engagement with faith-based actors and faith-related activities by the members of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Engaging Faith-Based Actors for Sustainable Development (short: UN Task Force on Religion and Development or…

Church of Uganda Training Handbook CHURCH OF UGANDA A TRAINING HANDBOOK FOR RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND CHURCH INSTITUTIONS CHRISTIAN-BASED APPROACH TO: Maternal and Child Health Sexual Reproductive Health HIV and AIDS Gender Gender Based Violence Family Planning This hand book offers…

Lutheran World Federation- UNHCR Thematic Discussion on the Global Compact, Nov 2017 Insights from the inter-agency project to provide 'faith-sensitive' guidance to the humanitarian sector through the tool ‘A Faith-sensitive Approach in Humanitarian Response: Guidance on Mental Health and Psychosocial…

General Remarks by H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See
First round of the intergovernmental negotiations on the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration: Preamble, Vision and Guiding Principles

The role of local churches in humanitarian and development responses Tearfund’s approach to humanitarian and development response is to work wherever possible with and through the local church. This is because, as a Christian NGO, Tearfund considers itself to have…

Maximizing a Health System Approach for an Improved Epidemic Response Recommendations from IMA’s Experiences Containing Ebola Outbreaks in the DRC IMA World Health’s work on the frontlines of strengthening fragile healthcare systems often brings us in contact with new infectious…

ZERO DRAFT 5 February 2018

The World Evangelical Alliance, Global Task Force on Refugees - "Proposals for a Global Compact on Refugees" submitted to UNHCR, December 2017.

The HLPF was an opportunity to highlight on the progress made towards the 2030 development agenda from governmental and non-governmental perspectives. 147 side events were held during this Forum - compared to 106 in 2016 and attended by 2,558 participants.…

University of Potsdam Germany 15-17 June 2017 website: g20interfaith.org see brief here More than a hundred experts and leaders from fields ranging from economy, law, politics, religion, development to humanitarian aid, coming from 30 different countries, gathered for the fourth…

The Capacity for Interreligious Community Action program (CIRCA) was a three-year capacity-building program financed by GHR Foundation and supplemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The overarching goal of the program was to contribute to human development and more peaceful coexistence…

Since 2015, ADRA has placed a priority on meeting the essential needs of refugee families and individuals in the European refugee crisis. Over the past two years, more than 1.3 million people who are fleeing conflict and persecution have passed…

In its seventh annual iteration, the United Nations Strategic Learning Exchange (SLE) to Develop Literacy Around Religion and Development expanded the collective literacy and understanding of UN system entities and some of their governmental counterparts, in their work with faith-based…

Good health underpins social, human, and economic development, as well as security. The emergence and spread of drug-resistant disease destabilizes this foundation. Drug-resistant disease, also known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), occurs when microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites)…

Although faith based organizations (FBOs) have had a long presence teaching health personnel and delivering health services to many rural and remote populations in the developing world, their poor visibility for this work can be due to several factors. FBOs…

Thematic discussion 4
Panel One: How can we support voluntary and sustainable return?

Statement by Croatia
14th November 2017Thematic discussion 4
Panel One: How can we support voluntary and sustainable return?

Statement by Croatia
14th November 2017

Panel Two: How can we ensure a whole-of-society response to large movements of refugees and protracted situations? Statement from SOVEREIGN MILITARY HOSPITALLER ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM OF RHODES AND OF MALTA

Religious beliefs and leadership can play important if complex roles in family planning decisions at many levels, but there are significant gaps in understanding how these influences affect family planning policies and programs. The World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD), in…

Joint Media Report This Report of the Joint Media Project of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and the International Press Syndicate (INPS) Group is a compilation of independent and in-depth news and analyses by IDN from April 2016 to March…

The aim of this report is to highlight evidence regarding the roles and impact that Local Faith Communities (LFCs) play in relation to urban refugees, with the aim of informing interconnected conversations around localisation and urbanisation. The international community is…

Community-led Health and Wellbeing Project in partnership with the Diocese of Niassa in Mozambique since 2011. This project is funded through the Australian Government’s Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) as well as from donations from Anglicans in Australia. The goal of this project is that communities…

The Access - Infant and Maternal Health (AIM Health) program is a five-year initiative of World Vision Ireland. AIM Health focused on the nourishment of mothers and children, protection from infection and disease and overall essential health services. Based off…

The Tropical Storm Beatriz that passed through the state of Oaxaca in Mexico left more than 150 landslides, mudslides and floods causing human casualties, material damages and leaving entire communities uncommunicative for more than 2 weeks. The drinking water was…

Food for the Hungry partnered with USAID to implement a Development Food Assistance Program (DFAP) in support of the Government of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) working closely with local partner Organization for the Relief and Development in Amhara…

Food for the Hungry has partnered with USAID to implement a Title II DFAP to improve livelihood and health and nutrition of individuals within vulnerable households in Eastern DRC. FH’s creative social and behavior change communication techniques, and innovative market-oriented…

This Faithful Affirmations Overview gives a comparative, 'at a glance', perspective, on how different faith traditions view Family Planning, in a manner which affirms the relevant human rights involved. This is the result of a collaborative process, between different faith-based…

A special issue focusing on both operational and ethical approaches to healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy, along with several other articles on faith based partnerships and developing community health workers. Click here for full journal

Development in Practice has recently published a special edition issue on Faith and Health in Development Contexts- July 2017. See Full Journal Here Preview of Articles in the special edition: Guest introduction: faith and health in development contexts Christopher Benn Faith…

For generations, indigenous people survived by farming with water from wells they dug, until the government took away their water in order to assist larger industries. Therefore, crops began to fail and indigenous people were left hungry. Flor y Canto…

About Collective Action for Adolescent Girls (CAAGI) is a two-year pilot project structured to work with faith actors and faith based organizations to improve the choices and opportunities for adolescent girls to live a productive and meaningful live. The project…

The  Review of Faith and International Affairs has just published a special series on Reconsidering Religious Radicalism See Full Journal Here   Includes the following articles: Reconsidering Religious Radicalism: An Introduction to the Summer 2017 Issue Judd Birdsall & Drew Collins Radicalism,…

In 2015 Africa experienced its worst drought in 60 years. The unusually strong El Niño weather pattern in 2015-2016, coupled with record-high temperatures, had a catastrophic effect on crops, vegetation, livestock, and water resources. Unfortunately, the drought has continued into…

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has offices in 17 countries across Asia, the most disaster- prone region of the world. ADRA recognizes the importance and urgency of increasing resilience to disasters through an inclusive, integrated community-managed disaster risk…

The dialogue on 13 June represents a next step in a continuous effort by the World Food Programme to mobilize support for Zero Hunger. In support of this discussion a number of religious leaders representing various faiths and geographic regions…

Episcopal Relief & Development Nets for Life Program Have you ever wondered: how do mosquito nets get to the homes beyond the end of the road? Follow along to learn how Episcopal Relief & Development and its partners in Ghana,…

This Powerpoint presenation titled "Sarvodaya’s contribution to the SDGs 2015/16 and beyond" was presented at Sarvodaya's Annual General Meeting on 17th December 2016. The presentation highlights and discusses some of the main goals of the SDGs that Sarvodaya works in. Founded 59…

The Government, Global Poverty and God’s Mission in the World declaration  emerged as one result of a two-day consultation sponsored by Bread for the World Institute, Micah Challenge, and the Center for Applied Christian Ethics, and held at Wheaton College,…

This report provides a comprehensive yet accessible overview of Kenya’s religious landscape in relation to major issues for development. The report is part of a broad effort to address these questions in the context of four countries, including Kenya, Bangladesh,…

This report summarizes and reflects on work that explored religious issues relevant for contemporary development challenges in several very different countries (Bangladesh, Kenya, Senegal, and Guatemala). All four countries face significant challenges of fragility, and development actors of many kinds,…

This is a conference report from Yale University 20 & 21 September 2016 on measuring, evaluating and reporting the role of faith-based interventions on reducing poverty and promoting well-being globally. The conference was sponsored by Yale University, Innovations for Poverty Action,…

Building a Just World examines The Salvation Army's contribution to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - the UN's sustainable development programme between 2000 and 2015. Using data collected by The Salvation Army during that period, this report aims to give…

The purpose of this study is to assess the barriers and enablers to community acceptance and implementation of safe burials in Sierra Leone. The Ebola virus continued to spread in Sierra Leone partly because communities were initially resistant to Burial…

The focus of this volume is on religious actors as important social actors or drivers of change, particularly as promoters of social change, democracy and development. It is an acknowledgement of the vital role that religious communities and similar organised…

School meals have multiple benefits and there is hard evidence that supports this claim. However, due to the multi-faceted nature of school meals, it is difficult to obtain a complete overview of the evidence. This paper attempts to give such…

The purpose of this report is to document and discuss the asset-based work of Mukuru on the Move (MOTM), a program developed in collaboration between the Interfaith Health Program (IHP) at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA and St. Paul’s University,…

Collaborating for Sustainable HIV Community Care The Faith, Health Collaboration and Leadership Development Program (FHCLDP) is a multi-sector team-based model that builds partnerships among FBOs, HIV treatment programs, and civil society organizations. The collaboration supports sustainable, community-based HIV prevention and treatment services…

On May 28-30, 2012, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) organized a regional consultative forum in Limuru, Kenya, PEPFAR and Faith-Based Organizations: Partners in Sustaining Community and Country Leadership in Global HIV/AIDS. In collaboration with the Centers…

Islam, like all religions, strongly influences social, economic and political spheres of life. Tenets that are perceived to be Islamic shape the status of and relationship between women and men. These tenets result in women – because they are women…

Religious leaders could help improve uptake of male circumcision in HIV-prevention effort Education of religious leaders had a substantial effect on uptake of male circumcision, and should be considered as part of male circumcision programmes in other sub-Saharan African countries.…

The Ambivalent Role of Religion for Sustainable Development: A Review of the Empirical Evidence GIGA Research Programmes Working Paper Series German Institute of Global and Area Studies Until recently, academia has largely neglected the impact of religion on sustainable development.…

There has been a massive advocacy movement over the last 15 years that has sought to advance the case of religion into view of decision-makers in the international development sector. This advocacy effort has been dispersed and not centrally organised,…

The scale of the 2014 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa presented unprecedented challenges for the international humanitarian community, and learning from the successes and failures of the response effort is important for designing future crisis interventions. Lessons…

On World AIDS Day, the World Council of Churches launched Leading by Example: Religious Leaders and HIV Testing, a interfaith campaign that encourages religious leaders to inspire getting tested for HIV and especially to lead by example and have themselves tested for…

Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and Earth Charter International (ECI) "Mapting" App to promote youth involvement in implementation of SDGs. The Mapting app is available on both Android and iOS devices and can be viewed and downloaded here: www.mapting.org The app engages youth take photos or…

In July 2015, The Lancet published a series on faith-based health care. The Executive Summary states that “this Series argues that building on the extensive experience, strengths, and capacities of faith-based organisations (eg, geographical coverage, influence, and infrastructure) offers a…

Stakeholder Health: Insights from New Systems of Health, was developed in 2016 with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is a review of best practices in the areas of community health improvement, as well as clinical and community partnerships,…

World Relief (WR) adapted its proven Care Group approach, a peer support approach traditionally used for child survival interventions, to address TB prevention, detection, and support for treatment adherence in southern Mozambique from 2009-2014. A cascade training model designed to…

The major institutional faiths are amongst the largest investors in the world. In recent years this investing power has been used in a number of ways, including disinvestment, pro-active ethical investment and impact investing. This quest for a clear coordination…

In May 2012, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), in collaboration with St. Paul’s University (SPU) and Emory University’s Interfaith Health Program (IHP), hosted a consultation on the role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in sustaining country and…

Islam provides a holistic understanding of human development anchored on the maqasid or agreed upon objectives of Shari’a. According to this understanding, human development is the process of maintaining human dignity to achieve well-being. The Islamic model presented here recognises poverty as deprivation in…

Religion, Women’s Health and Rights: Points of Contention, Paths of Opportunities - a joint UNFPA –NORAD Paper This Report looks at the religious arguments around some of the most sensitive and contentious SRH-related issues, from the perspective of the major…

Gender, Religion and Humanitarian Responses to Refugees Policy brief summarises key points and recommendations for policy, practise and research emerging from debate and discussion that took place at the workshop- 13th May 2016 It is a time for open and…

The  Review of Faith and International Affairs has just published a special series on Religion and Development See Journal here edited by Jill Olivier with a grant from JLIF&LC through DFID support Includes the following articles: Innovative Faith-Community Responses to HIV…

This case study on the 2014 Ebola epidemic highlights the complex institutional roles of religious actors and positive—and less positive—aspects of their involvement, and, notably, how poorly prepared international organizations proved in engaging them in a systematic fashion. Link to…

This report provides an overview of the engagement with faith-based actors and faith-related activities by the members of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Engaging Faith-Based Actors for Sustainable Development from 2013-2015 View the most recent annual report from…

Andrew Tomkins, Jean Duff, Atallah Fitzgibbon, Azza Karam, Edward J Mills, Keith Munnings, Sally Smith, Shreelata Rao Seshadri, Avraham Steinberg, Robert Vitillo, Philemon Yugi http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60252-5/abstract

Faith leaders, as trusted and respected members of their community, have played a hugely significant, and often unsung, role in the Ebola crisis. In the midst of confusion, fear and panic, communities have often turned to them for guidance. They…

This brief presents the key results of a 2012 review, undertaken as a partnership between the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and the World Faiths Development Dialogue. The resulting report, of which Lynn Aylward is the primary author, is entitled “Global Health and Africa: Assessing Faith Work and Research Priorities.”

Preventable child deaths outrage everyone. Immunization campaigns save millions of children’s lives and therefore unite widely divergent communities. But the untapped potential for partnerships to extend vaccination coverage, especially involving religious actors, is large. Two critical challenges are important and offer great promise: extending newer vaccines (notably against rotavirus and pneumococcus) and reaching underserved populations (“the fifth child”). The support and cooperation of religious communities, at global and national levels, is essential for both—leaders and communities can help address challenges and prevent the grave problems that arise when religious leaders oppose vaccination (such as in Pakistan and Nigeria). In building partnerships there are four priorities: (a) informing populations and building trust; (b) focusing on underserved populations; (c) overcoming barriers to vaccination campaigns in tumultuous countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo where faith networks are especially vital players; and (d) helping through holistic health approaches to “connect the dots” among different public health and welfare efforts to meet the needs of people and communities.

Julie Clague’s presentation to the UNFPA faith meeting for the UN General Assembly, September 2014: ‘A Call to Action: Faith for Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Post 2015 Development Agenda’. It offers a Catholic perspective on ‘Sexual And Reproductive Health And Reproductive Rights: Religious and Cultural Contexts for Development Effectiveness Post 2015’.

Cover page and table of contents may be viewed at Emory University's page on Religion and Public Health Collaboration here. Book may be purchased at Oxford University Press' website here Description from Oxford University Press: Frequently in partnership, but sometimes…

This document illustrates responses to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa by a range of faith-inspired organizations (FIOs) and communities. In addition to these resources, several events have been held with faith actors including a USAID conference call1 October 3 with faith-based and community partners implementing programs in response to Ebola.

The Ebola epidemic in West Africa highlights the special difficulties involved in responding to infectious diseases in fragile state settings with weak healthcare systems. Governments and international organizations are mobilizing rapidly to support public and private emergency systems in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone (as well as preparedness in neighboring states), but the needs and speed of the epidemic currently overwhelm available capacities (local and international). Challenges are exacerbated by the epidemic’s fast pace and changing dynamics. Informed predictions point to a continuing escalation of cases and to wide‐ranging, grave repercussions for economies and societies, including threats to basic healthcare and food supplies, across the region. The crisis demands immediate responses along many urgent dimensions but also points to underlying, longer term needs that call for new directions in development strategies. Networks of religious and faith‐inspired actors are a resource that could magnify the impact of urgent responses and recovery plans.

Katherine Marshall Senior Fellow, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) organized a meeting on October 6 Summary of what is…