Faith is indispensable to global development

Observer

6 days ago

For nearly two decades, I have worked at the intersection of development, health and security. In roundtables with heads of state, emergency briefings and donor forums, I have noticed a glaring pattern: faith-based actors are often excluded from global strategies. When present at all, they are sidelined, treated as symbolic figures rather than as genuine partners.
This isn't just a blind spot. It's a strategic failure.
Global policymakers setting humanitarian and development agendas still view religious faith through outdated lenses: a quaint tradition, an obstacle to progress, or a security risk. But faith remains one of the most powerful, enduring organising forces in the world. And in many of the most fragile or underserved communities, religious leaders are the most trusted (and sometimes the only) source of authority and support. To reach the most marginalised people, transform lives at scale and ensure women's full participation in development, we cannot afford to ignore religion.
Authoritarian and extremist movements have long recognised what many in development still resist: faith communities can mobilise millions. Our reluctance to engage hasn't neutralised that power; it just allows others to define it.
I have never shied away from talking about my Muslim faith, which is often perceived as visible and political in ways others' are not. Ten years ago, I gave a TED talk entitled 'What My Religion Really Says About Women", which has been viewed more than five million times. I think it resonates because it voices what many feel but rarely say: religious faith is deeply political. It shapes how communities define power, duty, justice and gender. It can be twisted to justify harm, but it can also be reclaimed to facilitate healing.
When I started the Voice of Libyan Women (VLW), an NGO focused on advancing inclusive security, I quickly recognised the importance of framing security and rights in terms of faith. Once the religion ministry certified Islamic texts in our materials, people began to engage differently, schools opened their doors and we held events in public squares. Scripture resonated where 'development speak' didn't. By tapping into Islam's cultural and moral influence, VLW led one of the largest campaigns for women's security in Libya, reaching 50,000 people directly. Faith is often the common language of trust. And in fragile contexts, trust is the most valuable currency.
To be sure, bad actors can misrepresent and misuse religion to spread extremism. But many networks and organisations are harnessing faith as a force for peace, stability and progress. Faith-inspired organisations (FIOs) have been quietly delivering services and results, even as many development agencies struggle to make an impact. Often first in and last out, FIOs tend to be deeply embedded in communities and trusted by people from all walks of life. In low- and middle-income African countries, for example, FIOs currently provide 30-70 per cent of healthcare services.
In addition to being well placed, many FIOs have ample resources and extensive local, national and international networks. Samaritan's Purse, one of the world's largest FIOs, operates in over 100 countries with a nearly $1 billion annual budget. In 2024 alone, it delivered 55 million litres of clean water and trained more than 174,000 people on best practices for sanitation and hygiene.
Even beyond formal FIOs, faith partnerships can shift outcomes. In Algeria, the Ministries of Health and Religious Affairs partnered with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to train mourshidates, women religious advisers, to talk openly about maternal health and family planning. It worked. Collaborating with culturally competent local leaders reduced the stigma.
UNFPA later launched an initiative to give Algerian imams guidance on how to incorporate information about HIV prevention into their sermons. That programme was so effective that the imams asked for more materials on gender-based violence, women's rights, and other topics.
Faith leaders also played a critical role during Covid-19. Pastors, priests and imams helped mobilise communities to adhere to prevention strategies. In Tennessee, over 80 churches joined forces with public-health groups to tackle misinformation and improve vaccine access. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, faith leaders requested more support to lead the local pandemic response. When people trust the messenger, they open up to the message.
Faith-based actors are also shifting norms. The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences mobilised thousands of mosques during Ramadhan to reduce waste. The Faith to Action Network helped over 90,000 girls in Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan attend school by working with religious leaders. And Nigeria's Interfaith Mediation Centre, led by an imam and a pastor who were once enemies, has trained over 20,000 religious leaders in reconciliation.
These aren't just anecdotes. These are scalable models built on legitimacy, proximity and trust – three pillars many development agencies spend decades trying to build.
I saw this potential again in 2022 when I launched For Mama (now Every Pregnancy), a faith-led philanthropic initiative for maternal and infant health. By engaging faith leaders as fundraising and advocacy partners – not just delivery agents – we tapped into a values-based infrastructure many donors had long overlooked.
The recently formed Georgetown-Lancet Commission on Faith, Trust and Health, of which I am a member, is working alongside global partners to integrate faith into public-health programmes in a more significant way, and to broaden the perspective of leaders in the field. Because faith is a lens through which people interpret justice, obligation, and legitimate authority, it is one of humanity's most powerful forces for healing.
Global development is, at its core, about building a shared future where every individual has a voice and access to opportunity. This implies that the exclusion of faith and faith-based leaders from the field jeopardises long-term goals. The question is no longer whether faith matters. It is whether we have the courage, and the humility, to engage it meaningfully. @Project Syndicate, 2025
Alaa Murabit
The writer is a physician and Founder of The Voice of Libyan Women and Board Chair of Girls Not Brides