Understanding the roles of faith-based health-care providers in Africa: review of the evidence with a focus on magnitude, reach, cost, and satisfaction

Pro: Pure service delivery is still needed in global surgery missions

“…7 Ainsi, lorsqu'on fait face à des besoins et une dépendance si écrasants quant à la fourniture de soins non gouvernementaux, il est inconcevable de penser que l'offre de services pure ne soit plus nécessaire. Mettre un terme à l'offre de services chirurgicaux pure par les missions chirurgicales internationales pourrait faire d'un besoin criant une situation prenant des proportions quasi apocalyptiques.…”

“…7 Therefore, when faced with such overwhelming need and dependence on non-governmental provision, it is inconceivable to imagine that there is no longer a need for pure service delivery. To put an end to pure surgical delivery by global surgical missions could potentially turn an enormous need into one approaching apocalyptic proportions.…”

The quantitative and qualitative contributions of faith-based organizations to healthcare: The Kenya case

“…It is said that FBOs work in more rural and remote areas, often complementing services not provided by the public sector. 8 They engage in sometimes difficult public health topics, such as HIV/Aids, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), gender-based violence, outbreaks such as Ebola, 10 and other services such as reproductive health and family planning.…”

“…A couple of recent publications make a lengthy review of the inaccuracies of and difficulties with different estimates (e.g., from inventories of facilities, published routine data on health information systems, household and facility surveys, or from international agencies' reports) of the market share, facilities, beds, or simply "healthcare" of faithinspired institutions compared to the universe. 7,8 Estimates of FBO contribution can be difficult due to the complexities of definitions, identification, politics, and modalities of healthcare beyond health infrastructure. They also find, through household surveys, that FBOs may contribute lower market shares than often believed, but find higher user satisfaction levels than with public facilities.…”

“…Finally, it is thought that they have a flexibility to try new methods and strategies and are able to more effectively influence health behaviors. 8,12 These are claims even more difficult to confirm. Kenya, a relatively large country in East Africa, has had a long history of established FBOs assisting the national government in providing health care in remote areas.…”