Faith inspiration in a secular world: An Islamic perspective on humanitarian principles

2015 ◽  
Vol 97 (897-898) ◽  
pp. 345-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy V. Salek
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Islamic Perspective ◽  
Humanitarian Action ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Secular World ◽  
Faith Based Organizations

AbstractIn recent years, there has been more and more interaction and engagement between “faith-based” organizations (FBOs) and secular humanitarian organizations. While humanitarian organizations operate under the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, it is often believed that faith-based organizations cannot be neutral or impartial due to their religious identity and agenda. Drawing on the research of Islamic Relief Worldwide, this article looks critically at connections that can be drawn between Islamic religious principles and those upheld as key to secular humanitarian action. The article outlines the Islamicmaqasid al-Shari'ahframework as an example of how religious-based approaches can provide a basis for humanitarian action that is both relevant to Islamic communities and complementary to humanitarian principles.

Faith-based and secular humanitarian organizations

2005 ◽  
Vol 87 (858) ◽  
pp. 311-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ferris
Keyword(s):  
Capacity Building ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Christian Organizations ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Current Context ◽  
Faith Based Organizations

AbstractThis article examines the role of faith-based organizations, particularly Christian organizations, in humanitarian assistance within the broader context of the NGO world. Following an overview of the historical development of these organizations, the article examines the current context in which faith-based and secular humanitarian organizations operate. The different roles played by these organizations are explored, as are some of the difficulties they encounter. The article suggests that much more work is needed in the area of capacity-building of local humanitarian organizations and in the coordination of NGO programmatic work.

Assessing Organizational Factors in Faith-based Organizations Partnering in Health Promotion Interventions

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin K. Tagai ◽  
Cheryl L. Holt ◽  
Mary Ann Scheirer ◽  
Sherie Lou Z. Santos ◽  
Nancy Atkinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Faith Based Organizations ◽  
Health Promotion Interventions

The quantitative and qualitative contributions of faith based organizations to healthcare: The Kenya case

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 60-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo Fort
Keyword(s):  
Health Facility ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Weighted Average ◽  
Relative Strength ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Faith Based Organizations ◽  
The Government

Though difficult to ascertain because faith based organizations (FBOs) might keep a low profile, be confused with other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or survey respondents may not know the nature of facilities attended to, these organizations have a long presence in teaching health personnel and delivering health services in many rural and remote populations in the developing world. It is argued that their large networks, logistics agreements with governments, and mission-driven stance brings them closer to the communities they serve, and their services believed of higher quality than average. Kenya has a long history of established FBOs substantial recent health investment by the government. We 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, we found that 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. We also constructed an index of readiness as a weighted average from services offered, good management practices and availability of medicines and commodities for 17 items assessed during the SPA survey. We found that FBOs topped the list of managing authorities, with 70 percent of health facility readiness, followed closely by the government at 69 percent, NGOs at 61 percent and lastly a distant private for profit sector at 50 percent. These results seem to indicate that FBOs continue to contribute to an important proportion of health care coverage in Kenya, and that they do so with a relatively high quality of care among all actors. It would be of interest to replicate the analysis with similar databases for other countries in the developing world.

Hacking humanitarians: Defining the cyber perimeter and developing a cyber security strategy for international humanitarian organizations in digital transformation

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (913) ◽  
pp. 367-387
Author(s):  
Massimo Marelli
Keyword(s):  
Cyber Security ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Digital Environment ◽  
Security Strategy ◽  
Humanitarian Action ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations

AbstractDigitalization and new technologies have an increasingly important role in today's humanitarian activities. As humanitarian organizations become more active in and reliant on new and digital technologies, they evolve from being simple bystanders to being fully fledged stakeholders in cyberspace, vulnerable to adverse cyber operations that could impact on their capacity to protect and assist people affected by armed conflict or other situations of violence.This shift makes it essential for humanitarian organizations to understand and properly map their resulting cyber perimeter. Humanitarian organizations can protect themselves and their activities by devising appropriate cyber strategies for the digital environment. Clearly defining the digital boundaries within which they carry out operations lays the groundwork for humanitarian organizations to develop a strategy to support and protect humanitarian action in the digital environment, channel available resources to where they are most needed, and understand the areas in which their operational dialogue and working modalities need to be adapted for cyberspace.The purpose of this article is to identify the unique problems facing international humanitarian organizations operating in cyberspace and to suggest ways to address them. More specifically, the article identifies the key elements that an international humanitarian organization should consider in developing a cyber security strategy. Throughout, the International Committee of the Red Cross and its specificities are used as an example to illustrate the problems identified and the possible ways to address them.

scholarly journals The challenges of donor engagement with faith-based organizations in Cameroon’s health sector: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibylle Herzig van Wees ◽  
Michael Jennings
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
International Development ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
The Past ◽  
Faith Based Organizations ◽  
The Government ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract Substantial global advocacy efforts have been made over the past decade to encourage partnerships and funding of faith-based organizations in international development programmes in efforts to improve social and health outcomes. Whilst there is a wealth of knowledge on religion and development, including its controversies, less attention has been payed to the role that donors might play. The aim of this study was to describe and analyse the engagement between donors and faith-based organizations in Cameroon’s health sector, following the implementation of the Cameroon Health Sector Partnership Strategy (2012). Forty-six in-depth interviews were conducted in selected regions in Cameroon. The findings show that global advocacy efforts to increase partnerships with faith-based organizations have created a space for increasing donor engagement of faith-based organizations following the implementation of the strategy. However, the policy was perceived as top down as it did not take into account some of the existing challenges. The policy arguably accentuated some of the existing tensions between the government and faith-based organizations, fed faith-controversies and complicated the health system landscape. Moreover, it provided donors with a framework for haphazard engagement with faith-based organizations. As such, putting the implications of donor engagement with FBOs on the research map acknowledges the limitations of efforts to collaborate with faith-based organizations and brings to the surface still-remaining blinkers and limited assumptions in donor definitions of faith-based organizations and in ways of collaborating with them.

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