title: Estimating the development assistance for health provided to faith-based organizations, 1990-2013.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Faith-based organizations (FBOs) have been active in the health sector for decades. Recently, the role of FBOs in global health has been of increased interest. However, little is known about the magnitude and trends in development assistance for health (DAH) channeled through these organizations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from the 21 most recent editions of the Report of Voluntary Agencies. These reports provide information on the revenue and expenditure of organizations. Project-level data were also collected and reviewed from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. More than 1,900 non-governmental organizations received funds from at least one of these three organizations. Background information on these organizations was examined by two independent reviewers to identify the amount of funding channeled through FBOs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 2013, total spending by the FBOs identified in the VolAg amounted to US$1.53 billion. In 1990, FB0s spent 34.1% of total DAH provided by private voluntary organizations reported in the VolAg. In 2013, FBOs expended 31.0%. Funds provided by the Global Fund to FBOs have grown since 2002, amounting to $80.9 million in 2011, or 16.7% of the Global Fund's contributions to NGOs. In 2011, the Gates Foundation's contributions to FBOs amounted to $7.1 million, or 1.1% of the total provided to NGOs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Development assistance partners exhibit a range of preferences with respect to the amount of funds provided to FBOs. Overall, estimates show that FBOS have maintained a substantial and consistent share over time, in line with overall spending in global health on NGOs. These estimates provide the foundation for further research on the spending trends and effectiveness of FBOs in global health.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haakenstad
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Casey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Graves
authors.affiliation: University of Cape Town, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olivier
authors.affiliation: Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities, Washington, DC, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duff
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Joseph L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Dieleman
mesh_terms: D003469:Culture; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D005102:Health Expenditures; D007391:International Cooperation; D009938:Organizations / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States