What is the impact of religious and non-religious beliefs on health care? Health care, an essential aspect of an individual’s physical, emotional, and psychological well-being, is an important way to assess this question. This book studies the relationship of the physical and spiritual domains by investigating how religious belief affects the provision and consumption of public health in three Africa countries: Uganda, Mozambique, and Ethiopia. Results all confirm the impact of religious beliefs on health perceptions, procurement, and provision. Securing good health is a key and universal aspiration. Furthermore, modern medicine is commonly understood as a means to that end. No matter the religious belief, all showed awareness of the importance and efficacy of medical treatment. On the health care provision side, faith-based entities are important, even essential, in health care for the three countries studied. A review of health outcomes, centered around the Millennium Development Goals, reveals general progress across the board. The progress towards the MDG’s has also been made by international ngo’s, including those focused specifically on women’s health. Health seeking behaviour is affected by a holistic mindset in which physical and mental health are intertwined. This world view, observed among adherents of Christianity, Islam, and African Traditional Religion, shapes Africans’ understanding of the world of sickness and health and how best to respond to its complexity. Africans thus pursue health care in a rational way, given their world view, with an openness to, and even preference, for faith-based provision where government efforts may fall short of basic needs.
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