Research project
Research to deliver WHO’s Faith Commission: Lancet Series on Faith Partners as Essential to Successful Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention and Response
- Start date: 15/6/26
- End date: 14/6/28
- Funder: Templeton Religion Trust
- Primary investigator: Professor Emma Tomalin (School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science), Professor Sanjoy Bhattacharya (School of History)
- Co-investigators: Professor Rebecca King (School of Medicine)
- External co-investigators: Professor Stan Chu Ilo (DePaul University, Chicago)
Value
$1,239,164.00 USD
Partners and collaborators
World Health Organisation, Geneva; DePaul University, Chicago
Description
This project addresses a critical gap in global health systems: the lack of systematic collaboration between public health institutions and faith actors in pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response. Although faith-based organisations and religious leaders have played important roles in responding to major health crises such as HIV, Ebola, and COVID-19, their contributions are often fragmented and insufficiently integrated into formal health systems. This limits opportunities to build trust, reach marginalised populations, and improve health outcomes, particularly in contexts where public health services have limited access or legitimacy.
The project aims to develop a robust and policy-relevant evidence base to support more effective and equitable partnerships between global health actors and the faith sector. It is guided by three central research questions:
- How can global health institutions better engage with faith actors?
- How can existing ad hoc collaborations be transformed into system-level approaches?
- What forms of evidence are needed to support this transition?
The research combines a comprehensive review of existing literature with new empirical studies conducted by six interdisciplinary research teams. These teams will examine four key areas: documenting the role of faith actors in health emergencies, identifying effective partnership models aligned with World Health Organization (WHO) strategies, strengthening national health systems through faith engagement, and addressing issues of trust and equity in health collaborations.
Findings will be shared through open-access working papers, policy briefs, and a dedicated series of publications in Lancet Global Health. The project will also contribute directly to the development of a proposed WHO Faith Commission, helping to embed its insights within global health policy and practice.
Overall, the project seeks to reposition faith actors as essential partners in global health systems. By generating evidence, tools, and policy guidance, it will support more inclusive, trusted, and resilient approaches to future pandemic preparedness and response.
Call for Applications
We are inviting applications from groups of researchers, practitioners, and faith actors — from Global South and Global North settings and at different career stages — to join the project.
The call seeks six diverse author groups, each reflecting or supporting an interfaith/multifaith approach within the research team and/or research itself.
Each successful group will receive up to £45,000 for a 17-month project, culminating in a literature review, research report and an article, possibly co-authored with one or more members of the core team (who will not lead), for the Lancet Global Health Series. There will also be some dissemination activities yet to be determined.
For more information, download the Expressions of Interest form and the Paper Outlines.
Impact
The project’s anticipated impact is to strengthen global health systems by embedding faith actors as trusted partners in pandemic preparedness and response. It will inform WHO policy, support national health planning, and improve health equity and community trust, particularly in underserved settings.