Christian Health Associations (CHAs) – umbrella networks of faith-inspired health providers – have become a solid presence in the collaborative environment of African health systems. Established through sometimes trial-and-error attempts to draw together disparate faith-based health...

This paper relies on facilities and household survey data to estimate the ‘market share’ of faith-inspired institutions (FIIs) in the provision of health care services in Africa. While estimates based on facilities data, especially for hospitals, often suggest that the market share of FIIs...

Charitable tax deductions are one of the largest tax expenditures at the state and federal levels, and they are also crucial for the sustainability of the charitable nonprofit sector. Understanding some of the factors that drive changes in charitable tax deductions over time is needed to inform...

Faith-inspired institutions (FIIs) commonly have as their stated mission a desire to provide quality health services to all, and in particular a commitment to serve the poor, for example, by providing services in remote areas where there are none, or by making services more affordable for those...

This paper proposes a simple methodology for measuring and analyzing the cost effectiveness of food pantries and other food distribution programs that transfer in-kind benefits to the poor. The methodology suggests that even if the administrative cost, management, and nonfood costs of running...

The issue of whether faith-inspired providers are able to reach the poor depends in part on the cost of the health services provided. This paper relies on recent nationally representative household surveys for sub-Saharan African countries to assess to what extent the cost of healthcare is a...

Patient service satisfaction has become a critical concept, utilized both in the assessment of quality of care and to predict a range of health-related behaviors and outcomes. What can be said about patient satisfaction with faith-inspired institutions (FIIs) in the African context in comparison...

The Christian Health Association of Ghana is the largest federation of faith-inspired provider of health services in Ghana. With 168 hospitals and clinics at the time this paper was written, 70 percent of which are affiliated with the Catholic Church, the federation accounts for more than a...

This paper relies on household survey data as well as qualitative fieldwork to answer two questions about the services provided by faith-inspired health care providers in Ghana: how satisfied are patients with the services received?; and why are patients choosing faith-inspired providers for...

In recent years, nonprofits have started operating thrift stores to reinvest earnings from the stores’ sales in other programs for the poor. Martha’s Table, a nonprofit in Washington DC, has adopted such a strategy. It operates Martha’s Outfitters, a thrift store which provides clothing at...