With faith influencing the lives of billions, and a major element of the social and political context in which global development efforts take place, it is simply too significant a force in the world — both for good and for ill — to be disregarded.
Since the 1990s there has been remarkable progress in human development. But in the last five years, the very lowest-income countries have seen these gains stall, and in some cases go into reverse. The climate crisis, conflict, debt, and economic inequality stand in the way of poverty eradication.
If we are to effectively tackle these biggest global issues, we need to better understand the world in which we operate. As leaders at Islamic Relief and Christian Aid, we see that among many global development groups, faith is a force that is either marginalized or ignored.