Resources

Journal: Migration and Society Local faith actors are deeply involved in assisting refugees around the world. Their place in refugee response, however, can be in parallel with and, at times, in disagreement with the efforts of international humanitarian organizations. Focusing…

This article draws on anthropological field work conducted during the West African Ebola outbreak (2014-2016) and reports of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis to discuss the role played by religion in infectious disease control.While much separates Ebola and Covid-19, the religious…

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…

Guidance on mental health and psychosocial programming This guidance has been developed in phases. A desk review looking at the literature relevant to faith-sensitive psychosocial programming, followed by fieldwork in LWF and IRW country offices (Kenya, Jordan and Nepal), led…

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…

This report presents findings from a mapping initiative that aimed to capture how faith-based organizations respond to violence against women and girls in the Asia-Pacific region. As a collaborative initiative between UNFPA and the Asia-Pacific Women Faith and Development Alliance (AP-WFDA), it sought to identify examples of strategies used by faith-based organizations. The report brings together the experiences of 58 organizations collected through an online survey, supplemented by in-depth interviews conducted with selected agencies. Importantly, the survey results represent only a small proportion of the faith-based organizations addressing violence against women and girls across the region.

Psychological First Aid (PFA) is the recommended immediate psychosocial response during crises. As PFA is now widely implemented in crises worldwide, there are increasing calls to evaluate its effectiveness. World Vision used PFA as a fundamental component of their emergency…

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…

In December 2013, representatives from 12 faith-based organisations came together to explore and articulate a theory of change for faith group and community mobilisation. The process examined assumptions about what success looks like and how we contribute to change; and specifically analyzed the role of faith, drawing on any existing evidence base. A small working group then met together in July 2014 to draw together the theory of change. Throughout the process, the group was careful to surface both similarities and differences. The theory of change diagram captures the core underlying beliefs that the group hold in common, while the narrative explains the diagram, fills in more detail and highlights areas of debate and that need further learning and testing.

Tearfund commissioned some research in January 2011 on ‘The current situation regarding sexual violence in Burundi, the role of the church and possible avenues for intervention.’

“Sustained Relational Collaborations”. Rev Bob Mitchell's words on behalf of the Church Agencies Network.

At an event on June 25, 2014, USAID unveiled an action plan “Acting on the Call: Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths” to save the lives of 15 million children and nearly 600,000 women by 2020 – a milestone in President Obama’s goal to joint the world in ending extreme poverty, hunger and child death in the next two decades.

The action plan delineates how 24 priority countries will dramatically accelerate progress in maternal and child survival.

Over 70,000 Burmese refugees have resettled in the United States in the past decade. While Burmese adolescents quickly acculturate into American society, their perspectives on health are not well-known. The purpose of this study was to identify adolescent Burmese refugee…

June 24-28, 2019 Les Pensières Centre for Global Health, Annecy, France 2019’s gathering began with a welcome to the Forum from the President and Founder of the AHIMSA Fund, Jean-François de Lavison. He thanked sponsors and participants from 46 countries,…

Salvation Army International Magazine Salvation Army Website [embed]https://issuu.com/salvationarmyihq/docs/atw-oct_2017-web[/embed]

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 central argument in the paper is that development is primarily about safeguarding and enhancing the dignity of human beings. Human dignity originates from God who has singled out humankind from other creations and favoured it in several ways. We are the only creatures that contain the Divine spirit which was placed in humankind by God during creation (Qur’an, 15:29). God has also distinguished humans from the rest of creation by endowing us with intellect (‘aql). Further, God has given humans the custodianship (khalifa) of the rest of creation on earth.

Research study, July 2019 Demands for both sustainability and value for money means that traditional NGO approaches to implementing projects may no longer be appropriate. An alternative approach called Church and Community Mobilisation Process (CCMP) is gaining traction in many…

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…

Written Statement from the Anglican Consultative Council, July 2019 The global Anglican Communion is playing a significant role in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals and “leaving no one behind”. Globally, Anglicans and Anglican agencies are delivering health and education…

The aim of this annotated bibliography on ‘Religion and Development’ is to lend a hand to practitioners in humanitarian and development work: ‘Where can I read and learn about how to take religion, religious communities and religious actors seriously in…

This annotated bibliography is a companion piece to the full report “LOCAL FAITH COMMUNITIES AND IMMUNIZATION FOR COMMUNITY AND HEALTH SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING”

With antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on the rise and becoming a growing global health concern, the WHO released a Global Action Plan in 2015 to address the issue. Although faith-inspired organizations (FIOs) play a critical role in health care globally, the…

This document examines whether and how FBOs’ approaches to development work are unique to NGOs engaged in similar activities in the same contexts.

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,…

From 2011 until June 2016, the Australia Africa Community Engagement Scheme (AACES) program worked across eleven countries in Africa (Ethiopian, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe), in three general sectors (food security, maternal and…

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…

Behind closed doors – voices against gender-based violence, human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Launched at an event on Wed 28th June 2017 in the House of Lords hosted by Baroness Butler-Sloss and presented by the Revd Dr Carrie Pemberton Ford, of CCARHT…

This process is based on Tearfund’s experience in the Philippines, in response to Typhoon Haiyan (2013). Typhoon Haiyan (locally named Yolanda) hit the Philippines on 8 November, 2013. Humanitarian assistance focused on some of the hardest hit areas in the…

This article examines education policy for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, drawing on 44 stakeholder interviews conducted in March 2016. Findings indicate that the idea of children’s rights, enshrined in international conventions, combined with foreign aid, encouraged the creation of a…

This report is a compiled from two pieces of research commissioned by
Tearfund’s HIV & Sexual Violence Unit. The full reports and researchers are:
– Sexual violence in South Africa and the role of the church by Elisabet
le Roux at the Unit for Religion and Development Research at
Stellenbosch University
– Breaking the Silence (full report) by Robyn Curran, Bongi Zengele and
Solange Mukamana.

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…

This report is part of an expanded partnership between the WHO and FBOs in facing health challenges, specifically HIV/AIDS.

The contents of this report have been drawn from 40 interviews with senior development professionals held during February and March 2015. A small number of members of faith-based organisations
(FBOs) also took part. The exercise was commissioned by the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLIF&LC) to understand the key opportunities and challenges that could be addressed through the forthcoming conference on public sector partnering with FBOs.

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…

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…

Religious leaders, with their tremendous authority at the grass roots, are key to garnering community support for broad immunization coverage. This workbook, designed for communication and programme officers and their immunization partners, provides guidelines on forging alliances on immunization with religious leaders and groups. It also offers advice on options that can be taken when confronting resistance to immunization, illustrated by success stories from three countries.

People destabilized by armed conflict, including refugees, internally displaced persons, in particular, women and children are at increased risk of exposure to HIV infection (United Nation General Assembly 2001). The above quotation suggests that internally displaced persons in general and…

Channels of Hope (CoH) is an interactive, facilitated process to create a safe space for faith leaders and faith communities to learn, share and debate. It reaches to the root causes and deepest convictions that impact attitudes, norms, values and…

This document introduces the Channels of Hope approach to engaging Faith Leaders for challenging harmful practices and enacting social change in their communities, providing a summary of evidence regarding the effectiveness and impact of the five Channels of Hope programmes:…

Channels of Hope research findings presentation- Building the evidence base on the role of local faith leaders to critical issues to enhance outcomes towards SDGs *Presentation for Dec 2016 Mobilization of Local Faith Communities Hub meeting Christo Greyling

Abstract:The Qualitative Impact Protocol (QuIP) was commissioned by the faith-based charity Tearfund to gain deeper insight into its Church and Community Mobilisation (CCM) programme in Uganda. CCM is based on a theory of development which is centred on self-empowerment and…

Child Focused Community Transformation (CFCT) is Food for the Hungry’s (FH) model for transformational development. At the heart of the CFCT model is the welfare of the most vulnerable population in most societies - children. The CFCT model grew out…

The Rohingya Refugee Crisis is a children's emergency. Over a five-month period, 655,500 people have fled widespread violence in Myanmar, 58 percent of which have been children. Since arriving in refugee camps in Bangladesh, many of these children have reported the…

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…

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

The “Christian Sermon Guide to Save the Lives of Mothers and Newborns” is a tool for Christian religious leaders on how to guide their followers through a safe reproductive process from pregnancy through infancy. It presents the magnitude of worldwide concern with maternal and infant mortality but argues that the problem is solvable. The instructions include not only guidelines for safe health and sanitation practices, but also recommendations for how Christian leaders might instill these standards and values in their congregations through addressing the issues in the context of sermons with Biblical references included.

Lessons learned from the DRC, South Sudan and Kenya from faith-based communities in crisis situations. Non-faith humanitarian organizations need FBOs to develop emergency capacity for HIV. “Collaboration between faith-based communities and humanitarian actors when responding to HIV in emergencies”

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)…

An Exploratory Study to Examine the Effectiveness of Community Based Ebola Virus Disease Prevention and Management Strategies in Bo District Sierra Leone World Vision Sierra Leone and Johns Hopkins University Research Collaboration on World Vision's Ebola Response in Sierra Leone.…

This paper examines the interplay between the destructive and healing forces within human communities, as reflected in the life of children. This work stems from over 30 years of being involved as a participant/near-miss survivor/therapist, in a society exposed to…

Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH) and Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau (UPMB) COMMUNITY-BASED FAMILY PLANNING PROJECT ENDLINE EVALUATION From December 2017 through June 2019 In December 2017, Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau (UPMB) was awarded a one-year cooperative funding agreement from…

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…

21st-23rd March 2018 United Nations Strategic Learning Exchange on Religion, Development and Humanitarian Work under the patronage of HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, in Amman, Jordan The Strategic Learning Exchange (SLE) is a partnership effort stewarded by the UN…

A joint JLI - WFDD - Berkley Center Initiative on COVID-19 March 11, 2020 Webinar The COVID-19 pandemic represents one of the greatest challenges in both global health and religious practice today. How are religious institutions, beliefs, leaders, and practices…

COVID-19 has lowered global carbon emissions; but it hasn’t slowed climate change. Our response to COVID-19 has precipitated the discovery of a vaccine; but it has left the world with a staggering number of deaths. The pandemic of Covid-19 has…

This resource answers the following questions: Why are there different types of Covid-19 vaccines? How do different types of vaccines work? How does testing and approval ensure Covid-19 vaccines are safe? Are side effects likely after having a Covid-19 vaccine?…

The following resources are designed to support parish priests and staff in diocesan offices and health and social service agencies. You will find information about the COVID-19 vaccine for varied audiences, resources to support the preparation of homilies, relevant quotes…

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change published on-line advisory materials on government engagement with religious leaders to help address Covid-19. Guidelines for Governments Working with Religious Leaders to Support Public-Health Measures. Read it in French or Portuguese An associated…

Series 1: Resource Guide for Religious Leaders and Faith Communities During a global crisis people tend to turn to their religious leaders and faith communities for social, emotional, spiritual, and material support. National and global institutions, including religious, political, and…

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

This report reviews work from countries where UNFPA operates and discusses various cultural influences on advancing human rights, specifically reproductive rights.

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…

Development Across Faith Boundaries investigates the dynamics of cross-faith partnerships in a range of development contexts, from India, Cambodia and Myanmar, to Melanesia, Bosnia, Ethiopia and Afghanistan. The book demonstrates how far FBOs extend their activities beyond their own faith communities…

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…

Disaster Ministry Handbook     Jamie D. Aten and David M. Boan, Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2016. Dr. Jamie Aten is the founder and co-director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute and Dr. Arthur P. Rech and Mrs. Jean May…

Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security Prepared by the Soka Gakkai International October 2017 In March 2011, the northeast region of Japan known as Tohoku1 was hit by a natural disaster of enormous magnitude: The Great East Japan Earthquake.…

Guidelines for church leaders in areas where disasters (earthquakes, fires, flood etc.) are common. Chapters include:  Introduction Chapter 1 – The local church and disasters Chapter 2 – Organising ourselves Chapter 3 – Risks, needs and capacity assessments Chapter 4 – Displaced people…

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…

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…

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.

Abid Gulzar from World Vision on behalf of the Advocacy Working Group for the Localization of Humanitarian Response Forum to the ICVA meeting in Bangkok in December  

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,…

Report of an independent mid-term evaluation of the Faiths United for Health program, a pilot program of the Nigerian Inter-Faith Action Association (NIFAA) that uses an interfaith action approach to train Muslim and Christian religious leaders to educate and motivate Nigerians to undertake behavior change in the fight against malaria. This report details NIFAA’s promising early work to mobilize religious leaders to use their influence to increase usage rates of insecticide-treated bed nets, as well as increasing other action against malaria. Produced with funding support from GHR Foundation.

Mozambique’s Interfaith Program against Malaria (PIRCOM) developed the volunteer, Christian and Muslim sermon guide. They provide basic facts about malaria prevention and health seeking behavior, providing scriptural texts in support of the actions that a family should be taking. These…

On October 16 -18, over 185 participants and 85 organisations gathered at the General Curia for the Society of Jesus in Rome, Italy for the Faith Action for Children on the Move – Global Partners Forum. The Forum was co-organised…

[et_pb_section admin_label="section"] [et_pb_row admin_label="row"] [et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text"] Lives and day-to-day work and relationships have changed due to COVID-19. Religious leaders and health care workers share how faith actors are addressing family planning during COVID in an ICFP Community Panel on…

Religion & Humanitarian Assistance in West Africa Since the 1980s, programs of humanitarian assistance in Africa have for the most part operated along neoliberal lines. Faith and Charity examines how that approach has changed relationships between religious action, humanitarian assistance,…

Nigeria’s vibrant and dynamic religious landscape plays many roles in the nation’s life and development. It is also a factor, albeit a complex one, in conflicts and violence that many see as linked to religious divides. Religious institutions have deep…

Religious leaders and institutions have been a vital part of the global response to HIV and AIDS since the early days of the epidemic. However, the faith-based response to HIV must be scaled up significantly if we are to end…

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…

This document reflects the efforts of two partners: CIFA and the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) to set out both what the 10 promises mean specifically, and how faith communities are acting and could act to further the global effort. It builds on the June 2012 promises with an important addition: it extends the ideas and actions that were initially framed for children to mothers also. The promises themselves are technically rigorous (best practice as certified by UNICEF and USAID) but they are also understandable and, we hope, inspirational. The document was conceived in the spirit of the many faith institutions that subscribed to the Ten Promises, and grew from a sense that tangible evidence could support a much broader effort and new energy and vigor in carrying goals into reality.

When the world thinks of the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, the faces that come to mind are those of doctors, nurses, health ministers, and politicians. But also essential in the battle to end the pandemic are an invisible population of…

Since the dawn of history, faith has provided a foundation from which social norms develop - an estimated 83.6 percent of the world’s population considers itself affiliated with a faith. This underscores the critical role that religious leaders can play…

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…

Global interfaith network that brings together religious leaders and faith organisations of diverse faith backgrounds to focus on a common agenda of family health and wellbeing http://faithtoactionetwork.org/our-network/

October 2020 For over five decades, USAID has partnered and collaborated with civil society actors, of which faith-based, faith-inspired and local community organizations play a vital role towards achieving developmental goals. Faith-based and community organizations’ invaluable programming reaches into every…

Sept 2018 As faith-based organizations working with refugee communities across the globe, ACT Alliance, Catholic Relief Services, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA and Islamic Relief recognize the important role that the GCR can play in building the political will to address the…

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

This draft background report was prepared as part of the Berkley Center’s global “mapping” of the work of faith-inspired organizations worldwide. The report serves as background for the consultation on faith inspired organizations and global development policy in South and Central Asia in Dhaka, Bangladesh on January 10-11, 2011.

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…

Released June 26, 2018  

Financing Global Health 2013: Transition in an Age of Austerity, IHME’s fifth annual report on global health expenditure, depicts financing trends that underline the resilience of development assistance for health. This year’s updated estimates show that despite lackluster economic growth and fiscal cutbacks in many developed countries, total assistance remained steady, reaching an all-time high of $31.3 billion in 2013. While annual increases have leveled off since 2010, continued international funding is a sign of the international development community’s enduring support for global health.

Religious and faith-based organizations contribute substantially to international development as major donors to care for the most vulnerable. Political pressure is increasing in some quarters to cut public spending on foreign assistance leaving religious and voluntary sectors to fundraise for…