PurposeTo understand challenges faced by faith leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in engaging with current public health strategies for the COVID-19 pandemic; to explain why long-standing collaborations between government, faith-based health services and leaders of faith communities had little impact; to identify novel approaches to develop effective messaging that resonates with local communities.MethodsA qualitative participatory research design, using a workshop methodology was deployed to seek opinions of an invited group of faith leaders in the DRC provinces of Ituri and Nord-Kivu. A topic guide was developed from data gathered in prior qualitative interviews of faith leaders and members. Topics were addressed at a small workshop discussion. Emerging themes were identified.FindingsLocal faith leaders described how misinterpretation and misinformation about COVID-19 and public health measures led to public confusion. Leaders described a lack of capacity to do what was being asked by government authorities with COVID-19 measures. Leaders' knowledge of faith communities' concerns was not sought. Leaders regretted having no training to formulate health messages. Faith leaders wanted to co-create public health messages with health officials for more effective health messaging.ConclusionPublic trust in faith leaders is crucial in health emergencies. The initial request by government authorities for faith leaders to deliver set health messages rather than co-develop and design messages appropriate for their congregations resulted in faith communities not understanding health messages. Delivering public health messages using language familiar to faith communities could help to ensure more effective public health communication and counter misinformation.
Background: understanding and improving access to essential services in (post)-conflict settings requires paying particular attention to the actors who occupy the space left ‘empty’ by weak or deficient State institutions. Religious institutions often play a fundamental role among these actors and typically benefit from high trust capital, a rare resource in so-called ‘fragile’ States. While part of the literature has looked at the role faith organisations can play to mobilise and sensitise communities during emergencies, our focus is on a different, essential dimension: the reconfiguration of the relationship between religion and health authorities impelled by health crises.Methods: we analyse observations, interviews, and focus group discussions with 21 leaders from eight different religious categories in Ituri province in 2020-2021.Results: we show how faith institutions handled the Covid-19 lockdown period, notably by using and redeploying structures at the grassroots level but also by responding to health authorities’ call for support. New actors usually not associated with the health system, such as revivalist churches, got involved. The closure of worship places during the lockdown shocked all faith leaders; some saw it as a test of faith while others criticised inconsistent State measures, but, ultimately, most were inclined to follow and support health authorities. Such experience was, however, often one of frustration and feeling unheard. The interviewed religious leaders, especially those whose congregations were not previously involved in healthcare provision, felt that they were doing a favour to the State and the health authorities. Such service is at the level of community-level awareness-raising, but also, crucially, leaders were aware that by publicly committing themselves against Covid-19, they were participating in an effort to depoliticise Covid-19 in a context where the response to past epidemics, especially Ebola, is highly contentious. Conclusions: in the short run, depoliticization may help address health emergencies, but in the longer run and in the absence of a credible space for discussion, it may affect the constructive criticism of health system responses and health system strengthening. The faith leaders’ frustration with the ‘collaboration’ with health authorities (especially for the new actors) also limits its long-term potential.
Background Understanding and improving access to essential services in (post)-conflict settings requires paying particular attention to the actors who occupy the space left ‘empty’ by weak or deficient State institutions. Religious institutions often play a fundamental role among these actors and typically benefit from high trust capital, a rare resource in so-called ‘fragile’ states. While there is a literature looking at the role faith organisations play to mobilise and sensitise communities during emergencies, our focus is on a different dimension: the reconfiguration of the relationship between religion and health authorities impelled by health crises. Methods We analyse observations, interviews, and focus group discussions with 21 leaders from eight different religious groups in Ituri province in 2020–2021. Results Faith institutions handled the Covid-19 lockdown period by using and redeploying structures at the grassroots level but also by responding to health authorities’ call for support. New actors usually not associated with the health system, such as revivalist churches, became involved. The interviewed religious leaders, especially those whose congregations were not previously involved in healthcare provision, felt that they were doing a favour to the State and the health authorities by engaging in community-level awareness-raising, but also, crucially, by ‘depoliticising’ Covid-19 through their public commitment against Covid-19 and work with the authorities in a context where the public response to epidemics has been highly contentious in recent years (particularly during the Ebola outbreak). The closure of places of worship during the lockdown shocked all faith leaders but, ultimately, most were inclined to follow and support health authorities. Such experience was, however, often one of frustration and of feeling unheard. Conclusion In the short run, depoliticization may help address health emergencies, but in the longer run and in the absence of a credible space for discussion, it may affect the constructive criticism of health system responses and health system strengthening. The faith leaders are putting forward the desire for a relationship that is not just subordination of the religious to the imperatives of health care but a dialogue that allows the experiences of the faithful in conflict zones to be brought to the fore.
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