Resources

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…

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…

Given the challenges faced with ongoing efforts to contain the spread of Ebola that arise as a result of incompatibilities between some religious and cultural practices and prescribed scientific methods, it is high time we explore ways in which traditional…

Local faith-based organisations (FBOs) and faith leaders played important roles in the Ebola response in DRC. Unfortunately, however, the international and national response was slow to recognise their contribution. Funding and decision-making on the response centred on UN and host…

Number 77 March 2020 This edition of Humanitarian Exchange, co-edited with Anne Harmer, focuses on the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Although at the time of publication the outbreak appeared to have ended,…

Part of ALNAP’s ongoing webinar series on urban crises. This is a joint webinar with ALNAP and JLI on local faith actors in urban response Urban areas are home to a diverse range of stakeholders, from civil society to first…

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. The United States writ large is an extraordinarily generous country. Faith-based…

Since the time of Christ, caring for the sick and the poor has been a core distinctive of authentic Christianity. The response of Christians during many of the great plagues of antiquity played an important role in the spread of…

Learning from the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary’s effective responses to the EVD crises in Liberia and Sierra Leone 2014-2016 The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) epidemic which struck West Africa in 2014 presented unprecedent-ed challenges for the international humanitarian…

Worldwide, there is an increasing trend toward urbanization, a phenomenon that is highly conspicuous in developing countries and in war- and disaster-affected areas.2 The majority of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, which have become home to most…

Refugees and Hosts in Jordan and Lebanon This research project was conducted between April 2017 and February 2018 with the following research questions: What modalities of reception drive what kind of gendered wellbeing outcomes for refugee and host communities in…

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…

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…

Participating in the United Nations’ 9th World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the World Evangelical Alliance’s (WEA) Creation Care Task Force (CCTF) highlighted the role of faith communities in general and evangelical churches in particular, when it comes to…

AJWS has been working in Liberia for more than a decade, and when the outbreak began, our grantees turned to us for help. They told us that the most pressing need in their communities is to address the fear and…

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…

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.…

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…

The recent outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa brought great loss of life and health. The world has responded with great care and attention and the people of impacted countries have shown resilience during these difficult times.…

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…

With its focus on faith leaders, this study uses the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone and Liberia to explore the relationship between humanitarianism and religion and seeks to provide evidence, in real time, of the role of faith leaders in…

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…

World Vision's Ebola Response Summary in Sierra Leone Covers impact on children, community, education, health, child protection, livelihoods, religious leaders, burials, food assistance, lessons learned.

World Vision's Channels of Hope model played an important role in mobilizing faith communities in Sierra Leone to combat Ebola. This work was built on the platform of relationships and Channels of Hope work over years. This fact sheet documents…

This excel spreadsheet contains all of the recommendations recorded by each of the discussion groups during the five working sessions of the conference: Health Systems Strengthening, Ebola & HIV, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, Humanitarian and Disaster Relief, and Large Scale…

With its focus on faith leaders, this study uses the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone and Liberia to explore the relationship between humanitarianism and religion and seeks to provide evidence, in real time, of the role of faith leaders in…

Religion & Sustainable Development Conference Presentation Frank Dimmock PC USA - World Mission Ebola in Africa Contribution of National Christian Health Networks, Christian Healthcare Providers

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 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…