Health

The principle of the harmony between science and religion, enshrined in the Bahá’í teachings, has also informed the development of numerous endeavors in the field of health. The Bahá’í writings refer to “the bounty of good health” as “the greatest of gifts” and as a means to pursuing a long, dignified, and fulfilling life of service to humanity.

Bahá’í endeavors in this area strive to expand access to competent medical care, with a focus on assisting local populations to develop the capacity to promote the physical, spiritual, and mental health of their communities. Initiatives take diverse forms, including hospitals, clinics, and medical associations. Other efforts have involved the organization of medical camps and campaigns to raise awareness about habits and practices that promote health, the implementation of health-education programs in schools, and the development of programs to train community health workers who can help bridge the gap between health needs at the grassroots and medical services of government agencies. All such initiatives envision the development of a culture in which individuals, communities, and institutions work together to apply scientific knowledge and spiritual principles to a growing range of local health concerns. A few examples of initiatives that have contributed to enhancing the health of communities are provided below. A number of efforts that emerged as a result of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic are described here.

In various settings, conversations around health concerns faced within the community at large, whether related to nutrition, the uncertainties associated with a global pandemic, or the impact of alcoholism in a society, for instance, have created pathways to local action. Groups of young people in thousands of localities have created spaces to disseminate health information, such as awareness campaigns around nutrition or mental health in Canada and France or community gatherings in the Philippines to discuss the harmful effects of alcohol. Teachers working in community schools across Africa have incorporated health education in their classes and in conversations with families. Groups of parents have established community farms to grow vegetables and other crops that could help meet the nutritional needs of students or entire neighborhoods. In Jordan and other parts of the Arab region, health professionals have arranged workshops and seminars in their own communities to increase consciousness of pertinent health issues and consult with individuals who are suffering from one or another malady.

Some initiatives have become more formalized and sustained. In Romania, for example, Fundatia Inovatii Sociale Regina Maria has established two clinics in the city of Bucharest to offer high quality health services at low or no cost to people without access to health insurance. In addition to providing services within the clinic itself, a medical team carries out home visits to patients when they are alone or too sick to come to the clinic. The team has also offered extensive services to refugees from Ukraine. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the organization Graine d’Espoir emerged as a response to the health needs of the population and has devised three lines of action to promote health within communities. The first involves training teachers to hold conversations with families about health and to learn how to provide a sanitary environment and access to basic medical supplies in their schools. Additionally, the organization works with clinics to bring into their work the harmony between science and spiritual principles—for instance, by strengthening health workers’ understanding of the nobility of the human being as a means to enhance the quality of their care and interaction with the patients they serve. Finally, the organization gives attention to raising community health educators who can complement and enhance the work of clinics within the community by providing outpatient support, following up with individuals who are sick, and visiting them in their homes.