New Georgetown–Lancet Commission Examines Role of Faith-Health Partnerships to Strengthen Trust in Health

In a commentary published online in The Lancet (“Health and Faith Partnerships to Strengthen Trust: The Georgetown–Lancet Commission on Faith, Trust, and Health”: Lancet Comment), the Commission’s co-chairs, along with contributing authors, highlight the Commission’s aim for “dialogue and mutual understanding between faith and health actors across the world,” particularly in response to shifting dynamics of trust that shape people’s health behaviors and the effectiveness of health systems.

The purpose of Lancet Commissions is to bring together academic partners and leading experts with “the aim of providing recommendations that change health policy or improve practice” for pressing issues.

The authors underscore that growing mistrust in institutions, combined with the politicization of health, structural inequities, and the spread of misinformation, is shaping public confidence in health science and systems. They note that these challenges have been especially visible during recent global health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed major trust gaps between health authorities and the communities they serve.

“Now, more than ever, building bridges between faith actors and health actors is crucial for public trust in health science and mutual learning,” the authors write.

Religious institutions and leaders, who represent sources of principled guidance, emotional support, and social infrastructure for over 80% of the world’s population, are often uniquely positioned to influence health decisions and behaviors. 

Yet, while faith groups often deliver care on the frontlines in underserved communities, their role in health efforts historically has often been in parallel to other health endeavors or instrumentalized. 

Drawing on lessons from a range of contexts around the world, the Commission will examine both the challenges and opportunities of faith-health collaboration. In particular, it seeks to develop new models for partnership rooted in evidence, mutual respect, and community trust.

The Commission’s inaugural meeting took place from May 11 to May 14, 2025 in Istanbul, Turkey. During the course of its work, the Commission specifically aims to: (1) prioritize and reframe the research agenda on faith, trust, and health through multidisciplinary dialogue, (2) shape policy and practice to strengthen public trust through developing strategies and tools for health and faith practitioners and communities, (3) strengthen collaboration and build networks between diverse groups in faith and health at local, national, and global levels.

“The Commission represents an opportunity to reimagine what trusted and trusting health and faith partnerships could look like in the 21st century,” the authors conclude. “At its heart is a shared commitment to advancing global health and well-being through deeper understanding and collaboration.”

About the Georgetown University Global Health Institute

The Commission is housed by the Georgetown University Global Health Institute, which serves as a cross-university platform that brings together faculty and students from across disciplines who are dedicated to understanding and addressing the complex factors impacting health on a global scale. Within the Institute, the Faith & Global Health Initiative leverages Georgetown’s extensive work on religion and public life, drawing on the university’s history as the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university in the U.S. 

Georgetown University’s expertise on interfaith engagement is also reflected through its Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, its Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, its Center for Jewish Civilization, and the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.

Faith and Health Leaders Driving Dialogue

Co-chaired by Kezevino (Vinu) Aram, M.D., co-moderator and executive committee member of Religions for Peace, Deus Bazira, DrPH, MPH, MBA, director of the Center for Global Health Practice and Impact and the Global Health Institute at Georgetown University, and David Beasley, J.D., former executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme and former governor of South Carolina, the commission reflects a multidisciplinary group of faith and health experts:

• Tuti Alawiyah, assistant professor of the Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta

• Vinya Ariyaratne, president of the Sri Lankan Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya; former president of the Sri Lanka Medical Association

• María Luisa Ávila Agüero, president of the Latin American Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases; head of the infectology department at the Children National’s Hospital; former minister of health of Costa Rica

• Galen Carey, vice president of government relations of the National Association of Evangelicals

• Manuel M. Dayrit, former secretary of health of the Philippines; former dean of the School of Medicine and Public Health at Ateneo de Manila University

• Mohamed Elsanousi, executive director of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers; commissioner of the U.S. Commissioner for International Religious Freedom

• Katelyn Jetelina, founder and chief executive officer at Your Local Epidemiologist; co-founder of theHealth-Trust Initiative

• Musimbi Kanyoro, former president and chief executive officer of the Global Fund for Women; former director of population and reproductive health, Packard Foundation

• Carol Keehan, former president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association; chairperson of the Health Task Force of the Vatican COVID-19 Commission

• Heidi Larson, founding director of the Vaccine Confidence Project; professor of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

• Jack Leslie, chairman of the board of advisors at the NIH Clinical Center; distinguished professor at Georgetown University

• Lydell C. Lettsome, founder and board member of the Vanbert Health Equity Project

• Thabo Makgoba, Anglican archbishop of Cape Town

• Katherine Marshall, professor of the practice at Georgetown University; senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs; executive director of the World Faiths Development Dialogue

• John T. Monahan, professor at the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University; former special advisor of Global Health Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State

• Alaa Murabit, chair of the board at Girls Not Brides; former director of global programs advocacy, and communications at the Gates Foundation

• Nelson Arns Neumann, international director of Pastoral da Criança, Brazil

• Mohammad Ali Pate, minister of health and social welfare of Nigeria

• Jorge Saavedra, executive director of AIDS Healthcare Foundation Global Public Health Institute

• Gamal Serour, director of the International Islamic Center for Population Studies and Research at Al-Azhar University

• Nate Smith, executive pastor of Trinity Anglican Church, Atlanta; former director and state health officer of the Arkansas Department of Health

• Ijeoma Uchegbu, president of Wolfson College at University of Cambridge

• Laurie Zoloth, professor of religion and ethics at The University of Chicago

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