Faith 'n' Science Resources

"At the center of religion are religious leaders whom communities trust and consult on various issues beyond faith and religion. By partnering with these revered figures and building their capacity to be champions for health we are able to impact the health of these communities in their day-to-day life."



The Faith 'n' Science resource series consists of seven booklets that are designed for African faith leaders who would like to convince their followers of the benefits of vaccinations in a way that respects both science and religion. In particular, they were developed to counter misinformation and communicate evidence-driven messages around a range of concerns/myths related to vaccinations, with a particular emphasis on COVID-19. Even though the focus is on COVID-19, the publishers state that the information can also be applied to other vaccines.



The booklets are a collaborative effort by IMA World Health, the African Christian Health Association Platform (ACHAP), and Internews and were developed in response to the evolving communication needs of the organisations' work with faith leaders, health workers, and journalists under a vaccine equity project in sub-Saharan Africa, supported by the Osprey Foundation. The booklets were developed as a result of a communications gap discovered by the project, which showed that faith leaders were in need of language they could deploy to share their growing conviction about the value of science with their followers, without appearing to be in conflict with their faith.



Each of the 4-page brochure-style resources speaks to a specific aspect of indecision about immunisation, which were identified by the project's rumour-tracking work. Each booklet offers what are meant to be easy-to-understand perspectives from four trusted sources - a faith leader, a doctor, a health worker, and a journalist - who explain the evidence on the benefits of vaccines.



The booklets cover the following seven topics:

1. Faith and Mental Health
2. Natural Healing and Vaccination
3. Children and COVID-19 Vaccines
4. One Health and Vaccines (about vaccinating pets against rabies)
5. Fertility and Vaccination
6. Pregnancy and Vaccination
7. Vaccination and Islam

The project has also developed a series of videos in which faith leaders speak out about how Faith 'n' Science can work in harmony for better health. Click here to access these videos.