Provision of faith-based services: challenges and opportunities

Trusted for their legitimacy and track-record, faith-based organisations play a substantial role in the provision of sexual and reproductive health care as part of social services with emphasis on the disadvantaged. Religious imperatives may cause conflict through lack of alignment with government policies regarding selected aspects of rights-based programming: limited range of services, gender norms leading to exclusions and accountability. Nevertheless, their services are crucial to complement those of government in the global South. The long-standing lack of resources of faith-based organisations might be resolved through imminent initiatives for the reform of official development aid that will include public-private partnerships.