Church as NGO? Leveraging Religious Networks to Promote Health Rights for Urban-Displaced Refugees—Lessons from Tanzania

Bibliographic Data

ID12930443
AuthorsJulie A Tippens (0000-0003-0465-3570, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, corresponding author), Amleset Tewodros (Refugee Council), Helen M Miamidian (Eastern University), Kara Kohel (0000-0002-7045-6332, University of Nebraska–Lincoln), Alex Otieno (Arcadia University)
Year2022
Volume14
Issue1
Pages352-362
Publication date2022-02-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Human Rights Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1757-9619 • E-ISSN: 1757-9627
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/jhuman/huac006
OpenAlexW4225805574
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited21

Human rights practice is of particular importance to addressing health disparities among forcibly displaced groups. Older refugees in low- and middle-income countries may be socially and structurally vulnerable to poor health related to human rights abuses, xenophobia, and inadequate resources compounded with ageism and isolation. In this policy and practice note, we use findings from a phenomenological study with 23 older Congolese refugees in urban Tanzania to explore the role of religious institutions to improve the health and wellbeing of older urban-displaced adults. Older refugees described how religious networks fostered spiritual support and guidance, enhanced social support and friendship, and provided opportunities to receive material and informational support. We consider how these narratives of support embedded within religious networks can reconfigure the role(s) of third sector/civil society (that is nongovernmental organizations [NGOs], nonprofit agencies) in urban humanitarian settings. We address possible strengths and challenges of including faith communities and actors in humanitarianism, outlining how such collaborative efforts could adhere to human rights tenets. Finally, we note how qualitative inquiry such as phenomenology is aligned with human rights in seeking to uphold human dignity and that these data, therefore, have special relevance in informing human rights praxis

Civil society · Dignity · Economic growth · Human rights · Political science · Politics · Refugee · Sociology · Global Maternal and Child Health · Migration, Health and Trauma · Religion, Society, and Development · Law

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