The Faith-Based Advantage: A Case Study on the Adventist Development & Relief Agency’s Response to Humanitarian Impacts of COVID-19 as a Faith-Based Organization

Abstract

Large-scale health emergencies like COVID-19 oftentimes result in widespread humanitarian impacts. Due to their long-standing relationships and involvement within local communities, along with extensive networks and support from faith-affiliated institutions, faith-based NGOs carry a unique advantage in reaching the most vulnerable during such crises. The Adventist Development & Relief Agency’s (ADRA) experience during its global COVID-19 response showcases how keeping a local presence in-country and fostering partnerships with affiliated faith institutions and constituents can result in a wide reach of programming. By providing dedicated personnel and small seed-funding, developing a flexible global strategy involving strong business continuity plans and emphasis on its faith base, and supporting the sharing of information and lessons learned among local offices, faith-based NGOs are capable of quickly delivering life-saving interventions to vulnerable communities. ADRA and the affiliated Seventh-day Adventist Church have proved during the first year of COVID-19 that they are stronger together, highlighting the importance of utilizing faith base when implementing humanitarian interventions.

Pandemic Epidemiology: A Comprehensive Review of Covid-19 Lessons and Future Healthcare Preparedness

“…Ongoing vaccination campaigns have significantly curtailed the spread of polio, bringing the world closer to eradicating this crippling disease. Strategic immunization initiatives, often in challenging and remote regions, showcase the dedication of global health organizations and governments to reaching every child with the polio vaccine (Hirata et al, 2021). Vaccination campaigns have been instrumental in preventing the outbreak and reducing the prevalence of numerous infectious diseases.…”

“This Is Where We Have Scored”: Exploring the Interface between Project and Institutional Sustainability Facilitated by a Faith-Based Development Organisation in Sierra Leone

“…FBDOs typically compete for resources with other FBDOs and secular development organisations, and make adaptations to their structures and functions to help them succeed [2]. FBDOs have increasingly been recognized as an important component of international development [3,4], especially where government service provision is weak and fragile [5] and provide rapid aid and support in emergency situations such as natural disasters, conflict, and disease outbreaks [6,7]. FBDOs often have a long-term engagement with the communities in which they are embedded and are highly trusted by those they seek to help, as well as by other important actors [8] such as the government, in the development and aid domains; as a result, Sustainability 2023, 15, 7292 2 of 16 they may often be "better connected to the poor than are their secular counterparts" [9] (p. 810).…”