According to the World Health Organization, almost 95% of all maternal deaths in 2020 occurred in low and lower middle-income countries (LMICs) with Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia accounting for 87% of all maternal deaths.1 Because health-care solutions to prevent or manage pregnancy complications have been well-established, most maternal deaths can be avoided by healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies1 as well as quality care in pregnancy, during delivery, and after childbirth.2

Faith-based health organizations are a critical component of health services in LMICs and have demonstrated success providing community-based preventive health efforts, including maternal-child health.3 FBOs and other non-governmental organizations are a critical factor for efforts to improve health and achieve equity in health, particularly for vulnerable populations in rural locations where governments and for-profit companies are unable or unwilling to establish health services.4 Providing faith-based pregnancy education can also help to address disparities in maternal health even within high-income countries.5 However, there is limited published research that captures the complexities and effectiveness of faith-based maternal health outcomes in LMICs.

With this background, we seek submissions that will fill this important gap in the literature to identify areas where FBOs can meaningfully engage in maternal health care by addressing the following:

Original research on social, cultural, and spiritual factors that impact all phases of maternal health, to include prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal care for women.

Field reports on culturally, ethically, and theologically appropriate family planning initiatives.

Commentaries and systematic literature reviews on key elements of effective faith-based maternal health programs.

Case Studies on outcomes and lessons learned from faith-based maternal health programs, particularly in LMICs.

Deadline for Submissions is 31 June 2025

References:

Allison AA, Basikoro EE. Why World Vision supports healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies to improve maternal and child health: a faith-based perspective. Christian Journal for Global Health. 2017;4(2):75-79. https://doi.org/10.15566/cjgh.v4i2.169

World Health Organization (WHO). Maternal mortality; 2024 (last update 2024-04-26) Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality; accessed 2 December 2024.

Nicol JU, Iwu-Jaja CJ, Hendricks, L, Nyasulu P, Young T. The impact of faith-based organizations on maternal and child health care outcomes in Africa: taking stock of research evidence. The Pan African Medical Journal, 43, 2022. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2022.43.168.32983

Nieman NR, Putoto G, Atzori A. Community engagement: Non-governmental and faith-based organizations. In: Raviglione MCB, Tediosi F, Villa S, Casamitjana N, Plasència A. (eds) Global Health Essentials. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham. 2023.

Walters CP, Vernon MM. Faith-Based Pregnancy Center Education Bridges the Maternal Health Gap. Journal of Christian Nursing, 38(3), 2021:180-186. https://doi.org/10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000843

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