AFRICAN RELIGIOUS HEALTH ASSETS PROGRAM

In partnership with the Religious Studies Research Institute at the University of Cape Town, Vesper Society is taking the lead in the creation of an information hub for the African Religious Health Assets Program (ARHAP) in Southern Africa. This department collects and reports findings and analysis of reliable surveys of data on religious health institutions and networks in Africa. It is creating an interdisciplinary, interfaith network of health professionals and assists in determining the application of best practices to be used in the African religious community.

ARHAP was founded by partners from several organizations, including members from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Interfaith Health Program also of Rollins School of Public Health; Vesper Society of San Francisco, CA; Religious Studies Institute of the University of Cape Town, the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and the University of Kwazulu-Natal at Pietermaritzburg, all of the Republic of South Africa.  Norwegian affiliates include staff from St. Luke’s Foundation of Trondheim, Norway.

Of the many purposes for forming this partnership, three are very germane to the current work: 1) to understand and assess the impact and growth of religious health assets in fostering health in all of its dimensions in Africa; 2) to fuel research that will promote a greater and more complete understanding of the role of religion and religious institutions in health promotion and delivery; and 3) to strengthen leadership and organizational capacity to advance health and ameliorate suffering, especially in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  

In July of 2005, ARHAP contracted with the World Health Organization (WHO) to identify, assess, and map Religious Health Assets in Lesotho and Zambia and to make this new body of information accessible to faith and health leaders, WHO, decision-makers, and program managers.  This knowledge is urgently needed to mobilize current capacities, align resources, fill critical gaps, and target interventions. ARHAP has held three international conferences to advance the body of knowledge in this field.

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