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 may keep a low profile, be confused with non-religious non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or be excluded from surveys because respondents may not know the affiliation of the healthcare facility from which they last received services. It has been argued that their large networks, logistics agreements with governments, and mission-driven stance bring them closer to the communities they serve and that their services have been a higher quality than average.
Kenya has had a long history of established FBOs but there has also been substantial recent health investment by the government. This article aimed to find the quantitative and qualitative contributions of FBOs by analyzing two recent data sources: the live web-based nationwide Master Health Facility List and the 2010 nationwide Service Provision Assessment (SPA) survey. Using this information, FBOs contribute to 11% of all health facilities’ presence in the country, doubling to 23% of all available beds, indicating their relative strength in owning mid-level hospitals around the country.
Article also looks at hospital faith based organizations’ presence, range of service delivery, and management
practices and support mechanisms compared to public, NGO, and private sectors.