Faith is an Indispensable Necessity for Global Development
By: Alaa Al-Murabit: A doctor and founder of the organization “Voice of Libyan Women,” Chair of the Board of the organization “Daughters Not Brides,” a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University, a young leader at the World Economic Forum, a Time 100 Most Influential Person, and a former ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals.
Cambridge – For nearly two decades, I have worked at the intersection of development, health, and security. During my participation in roundtables with heads of states, emergency briefings, and donor forums, I noticed a stark pattern: faith-based actors are often excluded from global strategies. When they are present, they are treated as symbolic figures rather than true partners.
This is not merely neglect but a strategic failure.
Global policymakers who set humanitarian and developmental agendas still view religious faith through an outdated lens, seeing it as an archaic tradition, an obstacle to progress, or even a security threat. However, the truth is that faith remains one of the strongest and most enduring organized forces in the world. In many fragile or deprived communities, religious leaders serve as the primary—sometimes the only—source of trust and support. If we want to reach the most marginalized people, create large-scale change in lives, and ensure women’s full participation in development, we cannot ignore religion.
Authoritarian and extremist movements have long recognized what many in the development field refuse to acknowledge: religious communities can mobilize millions. Our hesitance to engage with these communities has not diminished their power; instead, it has allowed others to define them according to their own agendas.
I have never hesitated to speak about my Islamic faith, which is often seen as overtly religious and politically charged in ways that other beliefs are not. Ten years ago, I delivered a TED Talk titled “What My Religion Really Says About Women,” which was viewed by over five million people. I believe it resonated because it articulated what many feel but dare not say: that religious faith is deeply political. It shapes how communities define authority, duty, justice, and gender. While it can be misused to justify harm, it can also be reclaimed as a force for healing.
When I founded the “Voice of Libyan Women,” a non-governmental organization focused on comprehensive security, I quickly realized the importance of framing issues of security and rights through the lens of religion. Once the Ministry of Endowments approved the Islamic texts in our materials, people began to engage differently, schools opened their doors, and we held events in public squares. Religious texts had an impact where developmental language fell short. By leveraging the cultural and moral influence of Islam, the organization led one of the largest campaigns for women’s security in Libya, directly reaching 50,000 people. Faith is often a shared language of trust. In fragile contexts, trust is the most valuable currency.
Undoubtedly, some misuse religion to propagate extremism. Yet, conversely, many networks and organizations harness faith as a force for peace, stability, and progress. Faith-Inspired Organizations (FIOs) provide services and achieve results quietly, while many development agencies struggle to make an impact. These organizations are often the first to reach communities and the last to leave because they are rooted in the communities and trusted by people from diverse backgrounds. For example, in low- and middle-income African countries, these organizations currently provide between 30 and 70% of healthcare services.
In addition to their unique positioning, many of these organizations possess ample resources and extensive local, national, and international networks. For instance, “Samaritan’s Purse,” one of the largest such organizations in the world, operates in over 100 countries with an annual budget nearing one billion dollars. In just 2024, it distributed 55 million liters of clean water and trained over 174,000 people in best practices for sanitation and public health.
Beyond formal organizations, religious partnerships can make a real difference. In Algeria, the Ministries of Health and Religious Affairs collaborated with the United Nations Population Fund to train female religious advisers on how to speak openly about maternal health and family planning. The initiative succeeded, as working with local leaders familiar with the cultural context helped reduce social stigma.
The Fund later launched an initiative to guide Algerian imams on incorporating HIV prevention information into Friday sermons. The initiative was so successful that imams requested more materials on gender-based violence, women’s rights, and other topics.
Religious leaders also played a pivotal role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pastors, monks, and imams helped mobilize communities to comply with preventative measures. In Tennessee, over 80 churches collaborated with public health groups to combat misinformation and improve access to vaccines. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, religious leaders called for more support to lead the local pandemic response. When people trust the messenger, they are more open to the message.
Religious actors contribute to changing social norms as well. The Islamic Foundation for Environment and Science mobilized thousands of mosques during Ramadan to reduce waste. The “Faith in Action” network helped over 90,000 girls in Kenya, Nigeria, and Pakistan attend school by collaborating with religious leaders. The Interfaith Mediation Centre in Nigeria, led by an imam and a pastor who were once adversaries, has trained over 20,000 religious leaders in reconciliation.
These are not just isolated stories but replicable models grounded in three pillars that development agencies have spent decades trying to build: legitimacy, proximity to people, and trust.
I witnessed this potential again in 2022 when I launched the “For My Mother” initiative (now “Every Pregnancy”), a faith-led charitable initiative for maternal and infant health. By engaging religious leaders as partners in fundraising and advocacy—rather than mere executors—we invested in a values-based infrastructure that donors had long overlooked.
Now, the “Georgetown-Lancet Commission on Faith, Trust, and Health,” of which I am honored to be a member, is working with global partners to further integrate faith into public health programs and broaden leaders’ perspectives in this field. Faith is a lens through which people view justice, duty, and legitimate authority; it is one of humanity’s strongest forces for healing.
The essence of global development lies in building a shared future where every individual has a voice and equal opportunities. Excluding faith and religious leadership from this field threatens long-term goals. The question is no longer whether faith matters. The real question is: do we have the courage and humility to engage with it earnestly?
