Faith Communities and Global Health

This book examines the underappreciated role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in shaping global health, aiming to lay the groundwork for more formal and equitable partnerships between public health systems and faith communities. Its core premise is that FBOs are among the oldest and most embedded actors in health system – particularly across the Global South – and leveraging their reach and credibility is a strategic choice for stregthening compliance and supporting development goals.

Modern public health often narrates its own history as a progression from religious charity to secular governance; yet historical evidence is more nuanced. Even today, global health progress depends on the tools made available through technological innovation, as much as on how communities engage with them – engagement that is often shaped by faith.

The chapters examine this argument across history, emergency response, regional service provision, mental health, gender, and sustainable development, collectively suggesting that the future of global health will not be determined solely by technical innovation, but by how systems navigate plural sources of meaning. These considerations are especially urgent in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed the fragility of public trust and the indispensable role of FBOs in counterbalancing mistrust and moral uncertainty.

Intended for policymakers, global health professionals, development economists, humanitarian actors and religious networks, Faith Communities and Global Health: Partnerships and Practice in the Global South provides a roadmap for building partnerships that are both evidence-based and contextually grounded, advancing the foundations necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Raman Bedi is Emeritus Professor at King's College London, United Kingdom, and President-elect of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA). As former Chief Dental Officer for England, his career has spanned academic leadership, public health policy, and international health development. His research focuses on transcultural oral health, non-communicable disease (NCD) management, and health equity. He is President of the Christian Dental Fellowship (CDF).

Following his life changing conversion, he served ten years on the General Synod of the Church of England and was founding chair of its Race and Community Affairs Committee. His strong Christan faith informs his public health approach today.
 
Beatrice Merli is an MSc student at Bocconi University, Italy. Her research focuses on Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) and social infrastructure investments, with a specialization in global health financing from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. She is a research intern at the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) and volunteers with Working for Wasa. Raised Catholic, she identifies as a spiritual person.

Esther Okorodudu is an MSc student in Public Health, with interests in epidemiology, health equity and the intersection of faith, gender and well-being. As a research intern at the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), she explores how religious communities influence health practice and policy. Raised in a Christian household, guided by her mother’s faith, her faith shapes her approach to public health. 
 
Nicole Gesare is an MSc student in Public Health at Umeå University, Sweden. Her research interests are in health equity and in migration, culture and religion as determinants of health and wellbeing. She is a research intern at the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) and at Unisanté, Switzerland. Raised Anglican, she identifies as spiritual but not a practicing Christian.
 
Thuto Serufe Makara completed an MSc at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom, and will begin her PhD studies shortly. As an intern at the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), she has published several academic papers. Her research spans cancer and the role of faith in promoting wellbeing. A practicing Christian, her faith drives her commitment to communicating the healing power of faith.