A consortium of faith-focused organizations and civil society groups based in Jerusalem plans to use interfaith partnerships to increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage and tackle vaccine hesitancy in lower-income countries.
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The Jerusalem Impact Vaccination Initiative aims to boost collaboration between faith groups and public health institutions to address both vaccine inequity and the need for more technical assistance with getting shots into arms.
Inon Schenker, CEO of the initiative, said the consortium wants to use its unique experience and knowledge gained from successes in Jerusalem to support vaccination goals in the developing world.
Over 60% of the population in Israel is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, compared with less than 7% of the population in Africa.
Why it matters: Schenker said the potential of faith groups has not yet been sufficiently tapped in the planning and execution of COVID-19 vaccine rollouts.
“It is time to look at faith leadership and its participation in the fight against COVID-19,” he said, adding that the mission is practical since faith-based networks provide a great percentage of health services on the African continent, for example. Some estimates suggest that the market share of faith-inspired health care providers in Africa could be between 30% and 40%.
What’s next: JIVI will partner with implementers in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America to establish and manage high-volume vaccination centers via Impact Vaccination, its technical assistance arm.
Rabbi David Rosen, international director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee and a co-leader of JIVI, urged religious leaders “not only to lend their authority to medical and public health efforts to combat the pandemic, but also to combat misrepresentation and disinformation that undermines this process.”
Devex, with support from our partner GHR Foundation, is exploring the intersection between faith and development. Visit the Focus on: Faith and Development page for more. Disclaimer: The views in this article do not necessarily represent the views of GHR Foundation.
About the author
Rumbi Chakamba
Rumbi Chakamba is a Senior Editor at Devex based in Botswana, who has worked with regional and international publications including News Deeply, The Zambezian, Outriders Network, and Global Sisters Report. She holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of South Africa.