Strengthening Global Health: Faith at the Center | July 13-15, 2017 | Johns Hopkins University

In the midst of every global health crisis, we are called to minister to those around us. This year’s theme speaks to the core of CCIH’s mission: integrating our faith with our work in health. We will explore how our Christian faith guides our work, and examine questions such as:

What is our role as Christians in ensuring all people have access to community-based care and preventive services, especially marginalized communities? What programs have we launched that protect and empower women and children and strengthen families? And finally, how do we sustain and strengthen evidence-based and people-centered health systems.to ensure high-quality care for all?

See the 2017 Printed Program

Thursday July 13, 2017

Morning Pre-Conference: Do We, The Church, Engage and Reach Youth?

Nearly 50% of the world’s population is younger than 30, the majority of which live in developing countries. Our youth face incomplete education, early marriage, early childbearing, threat of HIV, violence and conflict. Join us to discuss how faith-based organizations are reaching youth on the issues of HIV, family planning, body literacy, and in areas of conflict. We will address questions such as: How does The Church reach youth to help them flourish and thrive? What are the best practices of faith communities on reaching youth? Can we share what has not worked? And what can we share and learn so we can strengthen our programs?

Personal Stories from Two Youth Participants:
Ngalande Ngalande, Jr., LLB, Advocacy Officer, Churches Health Association of Zambia and Eloho Basikoro, PhD, Intern, World Vision
Statistics and Definitions: Jeff Jordan, Executive Director, Population Reference Bureau | Powerpoint
What’s Working and What’s Not Working? Cate Lane, USAID | Powerpoint

Monitoring & Evaluation Pre-Conference

We will explore concepts and principles of designing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks, learning from good and bad examples, and experience a hands-on lab session working in teams.

Speakers:
Anbrasi Edward, PhD, MPH, MBA, MSc, Associate Scientist, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
Jennifer Winestock Luna, MPH, Director of M&E Services, Realizing Global Health | Powerpoint

Opening Plenary & Worship

The Role of Faith-based Organizations in Health Systems Strengthening

Faith-based organizations provide a significant amount of the health care in many developing nations, especially in areas where people lack access to care from government and other providers. These FBOs are forging partnerships and capitalizing on new technology to deliver care and strengthen the health systems in which they operate. We will learn how FBOs are making an impact in the diverse and changing environments where they operate, including:

Country-specific examples from Cameroon to Haiti where the role FBOs play in Health Systems Strengthening differs dramatically due to a number of factors, such as how they interact with the Ministry of Health and how health systems are designed.
An exciting initiative by The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and Catholic Medical Mission Board to build capacity and innovation through technology, including eHealth/mHealth, resulting in strengthened care delivered by a group of Catholic hospitals.
How Christian health providers in Ghana have had remarkable success partnering with the Ministry of Health to meet the needs of the people of Ghana.

Moderator: Katie Taylor, MA, International Executive and Development Leader, Former USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health

Speakers:
Frank Baer, MHS-TM, DrPH, Vice-President, SANRU: Thinking Inside the Box: Paradigms for Health Systems Strengthening with FBOs | Powerpoint
Paul Mikov, MA, Vice President of Institutional Partnerships, Catholic Medical Mission Board: eHealth/mHealth in Faith-Based Health Systems and Programs | Powerpoint
Peter Yeboah, MPH, MSc, Executive Director, Christian Health Association of Ghana and Chair of the Africa Christian Health Associations Platform: Partnerships Among MOH and FBOs in Ghana | Powerpoint

Watch a video of the Plenary


Friday July 14, 2017

Plenary Session 2

Churches: A Unique Force for Community-Based Primary Care

Communities that are empowered, educated on matters of health and driven by Christian values to care for each other are uniquely positioned to improve the health of community members. We will learn how three programs have resulted in real progress in health thanks to involvement of church partners and Christian community health workers, including:

World Relief’s program to work with church partners in Malawi to provide social support and encourage healthy behaviors among 1,500 HIV-positive individuals.
World Renew’s program in Bangladesh in two areas with high maternal and child mortality to engage unpaid village-level community health workers to dramatically increase uptake of health services, incorporating Biblical values into their training.
A program by the Anglican Diocese of Niassa in Mozambique that resulted in tremendous increases in health knowledge and healthy practices in communities after more than 10,000 volunteers developed their God-given gifts and now live as active agents of change in 321 rural villages.

Moderator: Laura van Vuuren, Global Health Consultant

Speakers:
Amberle Brown, RN, MSN, MPH, Program Advisor, Health and Nutrition, World Relief: Mobilizing the Church to Support People Living with HIV in Malawi: A Qualitative Assessment of World Relief’s HIV Support Groups | Powerpoint
Grace Kreulen, PhD, Health Program Consultant, World Renew: Unpaid CHWs: An effective sustainable approach to selection, training, and support of unpaid MNCH community health volunteers
Rebecca Vander Meulen, MPH, Director of Community Health and Development (Mission), Anglican Diocese of Niassa – Mozambique: From Beneficiaries to Agents: Community Activists in the Mozambican Diocese of Niassa | Powerpoint

Watch a video of the Plenary

Breakout Sessions 1

Session A: Christians Respond to Violence, Stigma and Lack of Care for Women

The Bible tells us that men and women are both created in the image of God; yet, women suffer widespread sexual violence and stigmatization related to menstruation, and struggle to receive care during childbirth. We will learn how Christian organizations in three locations are rising to the challenges of these injustices:

Samaritan’s Purse engages the local church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to address the massive number of rapes, an estimated 1,150 every day. Stigmatization and lack of supplies for menstruation cause women and girls to miss school and employment opportunities. It’s Our Mission: Period! presents an evangelistic model of how God loves women and provides sensible solutions for women in disadvantaged areas. In a remote community in Niger with a population of 11,000, only one hospital bed was allocated for women to deliver. Samaritan’s Purse’ developed an innovative approach to involve community leaders and men to build a dedicated ward for deliveries.

Moderator: Amy Hewitt, Grant Writer, Lab-In-Suitcase Manager®, International Aid

Speakers:
Emma Smith Cain, MA, Samaritan’s Purse: A Lasting Change: Addressing Gender-Based Violence through Church-Based Interventions and Protection Committees | Powerpoint
Donna Terpstra, Executive Director, It’s Our Mission, Period!: She’s Worth It! | Powerpoint
Bruce Larkin, MPH, Health & Nutrition Program Manager, Samaritan’s Purse Niger: Promoting Birth Spacing in an Islamic Context | Powerpoint

Watch a video of the session

Session B: Reports from the Field: Health Systems Strengthening & FBOs

Faith-based organizations are involved in many aspects impacting overall health systems, from large-scale medicine procurement projects to helping marginalized communities have access to care, basic services and clean water. We will hear about three efforts to improve the delivery of care:

Access to quality-assured medicines remains a major challenge in most low- and middle-income countries. The Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network is working with four faith-based drug supply organizations in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda on a Pooled Procurement Project to ensure access, affordability and availability to lifesaving medicines.
In an interactive presentation, we will discuss feedback from CCIH members on healthcare delivery to help us understand how we can strengthen our work and meet the objectives outlined in the CCIH Strategic Plan to “strengthen the role of members to improve fragile local and national health systems.”
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) affect many marginalized and voiceless communities and flourish where there is poor housing, sanitation, unsafe water and limited access to basic health services. We will explore initiatives in health promotion and empowerment to address NTDs.

Moderator: Theresa Nyamupachitu, MSc, Senior Program Advisor, Health Systems Strengthening, IMA World Health

Speakers:
Mirfin Mpundu, PharmD, MPH, MBA, Executive Director, Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network: Addressing Access Challenges To Medicines Through Pooled Procurement – An Example Of East African Faith-based Drug Supply Organizations | Powerpoint
Wendy Jolley-Kabi, MPA, President & CEO, Global Health Action: Best Practices in Healthcare Delivery: An Interactive Dialogue | Powerpoint
Linda Lehman, MPH, Technical Director of Programs, American Leprosy Missions: Integrating Care across Neglected Tropical Diseases and Chronic Health Conditions | Powerpoint

Session C: Standing on Holy Ground: The Spirituality of Care

Moderator Dr. Daniel O’Neill of the Christian Journal for Global Health will lead this discussion on integrating faith with health care. He will explore Ignacian practices of recognizing God’s presence in all things, listening, mindfulness, reflection and entering the story of the patient, culture and community and connecting these stories to God’s meta-narrative. Speakers from Eastern Mennonite University’s Nursing Department will discuss EMU’s integration of Spirituality and Care and how the school has adopted O’Brien’s sacred covenant philosophy to shape their approach to nursing care, education, and personal relationships. This philosophy is based on Moses’ story at the burning bush: standing on holy ground.

Moderator: Daniel O’Neill, MD, MA(Th), Managing Editor, Christian Journal for Global Health

Speakers:
Don Tyson, PhD, Professor of Nursing, Eastern Mennonite University and Ann Hershberger, PhD, Professor of Nursing, Eastern Mennonite University | Powerpoint

Breakout Sessions 2

Session A: Advocacy, Empowering Faith Groups & Managing Imperfect Testing in HIV

Faith groups have many important roles in addressing HIV/AIDS. They have influence with religious leaders and are able to engage them in educational efforts; FBOs serve as advocates working for greater government support of health costs for those affected by HIV/AIDS; and they are well-positioned to address stigma and encourage HIV testing. We will hear from three faith groups about their work in HIV/AIDS:

IMA World Health is partnering with the Christian Health Association of Kenya to engage religious leaders in the slum areas of Korogocho, Nairobi to expand demand and uptake of pediatric HIV services.
The Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ) has a robust advocacy program, resulting in agreements with the Ministry of Health committing the Government to provide grants covering 75 percent of operational costs for Church Health Institutions, including work in HIV/AIDS.
False positives in HIV testing present a number of challenges. An SIM hospital in Niger provides HIV testing and must address the challenge of maintaining the trust of the majority Muslim population it serves and avoid stigma for those with HIV.

Speakers:
Theresa Nyamupachitu, MSc, Senior Program Advisor, Health Systems Strengthening, IMA World Health: Faith on the Fast Track for Pediatric HIV
Ngalande Ngalande, Jr., LLB, Advocacy Officer, Churches Health Association of Zambia: CHAZ Health Advocacy
Matthew Megill, MD, Director of HIV Programs, SIM Galmi Hospital Niger: Imperfect HIV Screening Tests: An Implicit Moral Accusation?

Session B: Family Planning in Uganda & Senegal with Catholics & Protestants

FBOs are making great strides in Africa in family planning. Three organizations will share results and experiences from Uganda and Senegal to evaluate the work of faith groups in family planning, partner with a consortium to launch an advocacy campaign, and engage religious leaders to promote family planning:

Analysis of the results of a study on quality and outcomes of FBO work in family planning conducted by the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University in collaboration with the Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau and Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau.
The Faith To Action Network partnered with the Uganda Family Planning Consortium to implement a Faith+Family Planning Advocacy Initiative through six FBOs in Uganda, resulting in 50 religious leaders being trained as FP Champions and replication of the program in a number of other countries.
An impactful program in Senegal by the World Faiths Development Dialogue to reduce maternal mortality through family planning engages senior-level religious leaders at the national and local level and connect with women’s religious networks.

Moderator: Douglas Huber, MD, MSc, Co-Chair, Family Planning/Reproductive Health Committee, CCIH

Speakers:
Lauren Van Enk, MPH, Program Officer, Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University: Does it measure up? Assessing the quality of family planning counseling through faith-based health facilities | Powerpoint
Peter Munene, Faith to Action Network: Enhancing sub-national Family Planning +Faith advocacy initiative through faith-based approach | Powerpoint
Lauren Herzog, MA, Program Coordinator, World Faiths Development Dialogue and Wilma Mui, MPH, Program Associate, World Faiths Development Dialogue: Engaging Women’s Religious Networks on Family Planning | Powerpoint

Session C: Faith Groups Reaching the Last Mile with Care

A well-known strength of the faith community is its ability to reach the “last mile” or the child “at the end of the road.” We will explore results of the work of three faith-based organizations with vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations:

The United Methodist Church’s Abundant Health Initiative – a plan to reach 1,000,000 children under 5, with low cost, life-saving interventions, in hard-to-reach areas.
The Community Outreach Initiative works in rural Mozambique with religious and community leaders to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, provide quality care for people living with HIV, share health messages and discourage harmful cultural practices, such as widow cleansing. ​
World Relief began its first project with the Child Survival and Health Grants Program through USAID in 1987 and has learned significant lessons working at the community level about grassroots engagement, volunteerism, and working with religious leaders.

Moderator: Nancy Pendarvis Harris, MPH, Vice President of John Snow Research & Training Institute, Inc.

Speakers:
Kathy Griffith, Global Health Unit, United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), General Board of Global Ministries: At the End of the Road | Powerpoint
Manuel Miandica, Kuwangisana, Community Outreach Initiative: Strengthening Lives | Powerpoint | PDF 1
Allison Flynn, MPH, Health & Nutrition Program Advisor, World Relief: 25 years of Child Survival: Lessons Learned  | Powerpoint

Plenary Session 3

How the Church Can Reach Youth When They Need Us

How can the church reach the millions of young people across the globe looking for guidance as they navigate the difficult years of adolescence and young adulthood? The Church is a force for positive change, but if we don’t reach young people when they need good role models and wise counsel we are missing an enormous opportunity. We will hear from a panel of young professionals from a variety of backgrounds sharing their perspective on how to best reach the youth of today.

Moderator: Debbie Dortzbach, MPH, MN, Director of Health Social Development, World Relief

Speakers:
Jerilyn Cox, BSN, RN, Nurse Care Manager, Whitman-Walker Health
Nana Dagadu, MPH, Senior Research Officer, Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University | Powerpoint
Rhona Murungi, MA, Program Officer for Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Haiti, World Relief
Samuel Shanju, HSM, Program Assistant, Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network

Watch a video of the Plenary


Saturday, July 15, 2017

Plenary Session 4

Faith Journey of Ebola Doctor Kent Brantly

Compassion over fear is how Dr. Kent Brantly describes the most important lesson he learned from his experience treating Ebola patients in Liberia and ultimately becoming infected with the virus in the 2014 outbreak. Dr. Brantly answered the calling to serve those in need and experience a remarkable journey as the first person in the world to be treated with the experimental drug ZMapp, and the first person with Ebola to be treated in the United States when he was evacuated to Emory University Hospital. Dr. Brantly will share his extraordinary experience and his personal faith journey leading him to serve as a missionary doctor with Samaritan’s Purse facing one of the deadliest viruses of our time.

Moderator: Lance Plyler, MD, Medical Advisor, Disaster Response and Programs, Samaritan’s Purse

Watch a video of the Plenary

Breakout Sessions 3

Session A: FBOs Share M&E & HSS Challenges, Successes & Lessons Learned

Data collection and analysis and instituting quality control practices are crucial to the effectiveness of an organization’s programs, and faith-based organizations are no exception. We will hear from three FBOs as they tackle these challenging areas:

The Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau, Kiwoko Hospital Uganda and the Armstrong Institute of Patient Safety at Johns Hopkins Medicine USA are ensuring quality health care services and improving patient safety by adapting and implementing the Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program (CUSP) model.
International Care Ministries (ICM), is a Philippine-based NGO that implements poverty alleviation programs via local churches. This session will explore how ICM integrates rigorous data collection with program monitoring, and the intersection with faith and health.
SANRU in the DRC will share three M&E challenges it faces supporting evidence-based decision-making and improving health services to millions of people with an enormous amount of data.

Moderator: Lebohang Patricia Mothae, MPub, Executive Director, Christian Health Association of Lesotho

Speakers:
Tonny Tumwesigye, MD, MSPH, Executive Director, Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau: Spreading Quality Innovative and Cost Effective Care For Vulnerable Populations Through Hospital To Hospital Patient Safety Health Systems-A National and International Partnership Based Approach | Powerpoint
Lincoln Lau, PhD, Director of Research, International Care Ministries: Does the Level of Trust in Faith Leaders Affect Health Intervention Outcomes? Findings from a Child Malnutrition Intervention in the Philippines | Powerpoint
Antoine Mafwila, MD, MPH, Chief of Monitoring and Evaluation, SANRU: The Challenges of Evidence-based Monitoring and Evaluation in DR Congo | Powerpoint

Session B: Faith-based Leadership on Climate Justice: A Moral Imperative

This panel will address the challenge of climate change. Centered in voices of frontline community members, participants will hear about the experiences of communities in the United States impacted by sea level rise, shifts in agricultural yields, and extreme weather. We will also explore how communities are connecting with global south communities to engage in transnational and translocal organizing and participants will be guided in reflecting on the biblical basis for action on climate change. Finally, participants will hear about faith-based actions already happening across the United States and beyond, as well as specific, concrete ways that they can engage. Each participant will walk away with at least one commitment to taking action on climate change.

Moderator: Ray Martin, MPH, Executive Director Emeritus, Christian Connections for International Health

Speakers:
Pastor Leo Woodberry, Pastor and Executive Director of Woodberry & Associates, Kingdom Living Temple
Reverend Dottie Yunger, MDiv, Lead Pastor, Solomon’s United Methodist Church

Session C: Holistic Faith-based Approaches to Healing Trauma and Building Healthy Families

A strength of faith-based health care is the focus on the whole person, including physical and emotional and spiritual healing. We will hear about two programs designed to heal by serving the whole person, body, mind and spirit:
Crisis Care Training International uses a holistic approach to heal the many wounded around our world, drawing on its experience offering refugees, street children, child soldiers, orphans and the sexually exploited an opportunity to know and trust God.
A World Relief program works with churches in six countries to encourage healthier marriages in their communities through a program known as Families for Life.

Moderator: Paul Frank, PhD, Executive Director, SIL LEAD, Inc.

Speakers:
Amy Wilson, Crisis Care Training International: Effects of Trauma on Faith and Spirituality | Powerpoint
Debbie Dortzbach, MPH, MN, Director of Health Social Development, World Relief: Loving your neighbor: Your spouse

Breakout Sessions 4

Session A: Faith Leaders as Powerful Allies in Improving Maternal and Child Health

Experience has shown that when religious leaders have accurate information about family planning, they become powerful champions, promoting the healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies in their communities. We will hear about three efforts to engage religious leaders in family planning promotion:

A World Vision program in Kenya is showing early promising results in increasing uptake of both family planning and immunization through training primarily male Christian and Muslim religious leaders on how holy scripture supports healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies.
The Advancing Partners and Communities Project, a USAID-funded partnership implemented by JSI and FHI360 has partnered with the Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau and CCIH to build the capacity of Ugandan religious leaders to talk about family planning/healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy.
The Christian Health Association of Kenya is working with CCIH to address the unmet need for family planning by empowering religious leaders to advocate for improved resource allocation for FP and favorable public policy.

Moderator: Henry Mosley, MD, MPH, Professor Emeritus, Population, Family and Reproductive Health and International Health Departments, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Speakers:
Adrienne Allison, MA, MPA, MPH, Technical Advisor for Family Planning, World Vision, Integrating Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy and Immunization: Removing barriers to integration and male opposition to increase uptake of both | Powerpoint
Marta Pirzadeh, MPH, Senior Technical Officer for the Research Utilization Unit, FHI360: Faith and family planning: using a holistic model of reproductive health promotion to assess knowledge, attitudes and uptake of family planning in Uganda | Powerpoint
Jane Kishoyian, MPH, RN, Project Coordinator, Christian Health Association of Kenya: Religious leaders as champions of change in family planning | Powerpoint

Session B: Lessons from HIV and Malaria for Faith-based Organizations in Africa’s Transition to Managing NCDs

This session will explore lessons from successful HIV, malaria and other infectious disease programs and the ways that these can be the basis for innovative public-private partnerships to combat NCDs. We will hear about the model of partnerships between faith-based providers and Novartis, a global pharmaceutical company, to illustrate how FBOs can implement the call of the Addis Action Agenda for transformative PPPs to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. We will learn about other Christian partners with longstanding partnership models, hear an overview of the key achievements in the fight against malaria and some of the key success factors. The epidemiology of non-communicable diseases and malaria on a time-scale will also be examined.

Moderator: David Olson, Communications and Social Marketing Consultant, Olson Global Communications

Speakers:
Jonathan Kiliko, MBA, PhD, Head of Customer Service, Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS)
Samuel Mwenda, MD, Secretary General, Christian Health Association of Kenya
Nathan Mulure, MD, MPH, MPharm, Cluster Head, Novartis Social Business, East and Southern Africa

Session C: Responding in a Time of Multiple Famines

Our world faces multiple famines today, from Nigeria to Somalia, to South Sudan and Yemen. The severity of these famines challenge Christians to address them on a number of fronts: raising funds rapidly to provide emergency food, responding in the field with life-saving food and working with local governments and partners to respond. We will hear from organizations on the front lines of this massive crisis.

As a faith-based organization, IMA World Health has the imperative to address critical needs in South Sudan. Its current nutrition programming includes outpatient treatment, targeted supplementary feeding, stabilization centers and community-based screening.
Americares is a global health and disaster response organization, responding across the world to acute disasters. Generating support for famine and associated disease outbreaks in the horn of Africa is fraught with challenges from delayed donor interest in slow onset disasters to concern over the safety of staff in insecure environments.

Moderator: Lisa Firth, MB, MPH, Health Technical Advisor, Salvation Army World Service Office

Speakers:
Dalia Eryani, MS, Senior Program Officer, IMA World Health | Powerpoint
Anne Peterson, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President, Global Programs, Americares

Presentation of 2017 Christian International Health Champion Award

The CCIH Christian International Health Champion Award recognizes an individual who has dedicated his or her life to global health from a Christian perspective, made significant contributions to the field and to the development of CCIH.

The award was presented by Samuel Mwenda, MD, General Secretary, Christian Health Association of Kenya, Recipient of the 2016 CCIH Christian International Health Champion Award.

Recipient: Frank Baer, MHS-TM, DrPH, Vice President, SANRU

Watch a video of the award presentation

Closing Plenary Session

How to Engage with Donors to Leverage Faith Work

The commitment, influence and efficiency of faith-based organizations working in development is being increasingly recognized, including by donors. Organizations supporting global health work want to engage with faith groups and FBOs are finding diversified funding sources beyond their traditional donors helps leverage their work. Representatives from donor organizations and a resource development expert will share their thoughts on how FBOs can successfully engage with donors, working towards a partnership to serve an even greater number of people in need.

Moderator: Anne Peterson, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President of Programs, Americares

Speakers:
William Moore, Executive Director, Eleanor Crook Foundation
David Stanton, MSN, MPH, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator, USAID Bureau for Global Health
Joan Geiger Wood, CFRE, Joan Wood & Company

Watch a video of the Plenary

Conference Wrap-Up: Discussion of Key Points and Takeaways

Presented by Doug Fountain, Vice President for Strategy and Impact, Medical Teams International and CCIH Board Vice President

See a written summary of takeaway points

Watch a video of the summary presentation