March 5-6, 2025 | Central Teaching Facility Auditorium, 105 & 106, Kyambogo University

Exploring the Intersection of Faith and Healing Practices in East-Central Africa

The Faith and Health Conference 2025 will take place on March 5-6, 2025, at Kyambogo University, Central Teaching Facility Auditorium 105 & 106. Themed “Good Health and Well-Being: The Intersection of Faith and Healing Practices in East-Central Africa” this conference will bring together leading scholars, medical professionals, faith leaders, and policymakers to examine how faith interacts with healing and healthcare in East-Central Africa.

About the Conference

This conference is an interdisciplinary and institutional collaboration involving the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Kyambogo University, the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh, the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences and Health Sciences at Mzuzu University (Malawi), and the Faculties of Applied Sciences and Theology at the University of Livingstonia (Malawi).

East-Central Africa has a diverse and vibrant religious landscape and is familiar with outbreaks of disease. A range of healing practices – biomedical, herbal, and spiritual – often incorporate a faith component yet the influence of religious belief and practice on health is frequently ignored, instrumentalised, or deemed obstructive in developmental interventions. Similarly, there seems to be a dearth of studies on the role of religion in achieving Africa’s agenda to improve health (SDG 3 and the African Union’s ‘Agenda 2063’); and so is the growing respect indigenous healing knowledge and contextual responses to biomedicine.

The COVID-19 pandemic, for example, demonstrated significant nonconformity to dominant narratives of health care and healing. Although biomedicine is predominant and supported by faith-based, government, and private hospitals, clinics, and training facilities, some still use indigenous healing practices. Others focus on divine healing or the exorcism of evil spirits. People move between options when seeking effective and affordable healthcare. Sometimes a plurality of healing pathways complements each other, and sometimes they oppose each other, causing risk to life. This conference is an invitation to rethink these various aspects of health and faith through cross-disciplinary approaches and epistemologies. By focusing on recentering academic and lived experiences, we aim to explore how diverse faiths and healing practices interact and impact people’s well-being. Our goal is to investigate the complex interconnections between faith on one hand, and medical knowledge and practices of caring and curing on the other. This approach will help us understand the intersections of faith with varied medical traditions, including the tensions and conflicts between these two fields.

Keynote Speakers

Prof. Emma Wild-Wood, PhD

A leading scholar in African Religions and World Christianity, Prof. Wild-Wood serves as Co-director of the Centre for the Study of World Christianity at the University of Edinburgh. She has published extensively on religious encounters, missionary history, and Christianity in Africa, including works on Uganda and the Great Lakes region.

Dr. Yahaya Hills Kagali Sekagya, MD, PhD

A traditional healer and medical doctor, Dr. Sekagya is a specialist in African spirituality and indigenous medicine. He is the Director of PROMETRA Uganda and has served on national and international boards, including Uganda’s National Drug Authority. His research focuses on traditional healthcare systems and their philosophical underpinnings.

Dr. Sabrina Bakeera-Kitaka, MD, PhD

An expert in Pediatrics and Child Health, Dr. Kitaka is a Senior Lecturer at Makerere University College of Health Sciences. She has made significant contributions to HIV/AIDS research and adolescent healthcare in Africa. Her work bridges faith, health policies, and modern medical interventions.

Assoc. Prof. James Mugisha, PhD

Prof. Mugisha is an expert in mental health research with numerous publications in esteemed journals and experience as a guest editor for Frontiers in Sociology. He currently serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Social Science at Kyambogo University and has overseen various health initiatives addressing HIV, stigma, and mental health care in Uganda. His research focuses on integrating mental health services into primary healthcare systems across multiple countries and addressing mental health issues among HIV-positive children and adolescents. He is also actively involved in community service through the Africa Social Development and Health Initiative.

Conference Sub-Themes

  • Histories of Medicine, Disease, and Healing
  • Faith, Belief, and Trust in State Health Care Interventions
  • Doctrine, Medical Knowledge, and Practices
  • Faith and Activism: Rights, Resistance, and Health Care
  • Pandemics and Faith Expressions
  • Religious Objects/Relics in Health Spaces
  • Spiritualism and ‘Alternative’ Medicine
  • Religion, Food Production, Plant Use, and Well-Being

Why Attend?

  • Gain insights into the role of faith in healthcare policies and interventions.
  • Engage with experts across multiple disciplines including medicine, theology, anthropology, and social sciences.
  • Network with scholars, medical practitioners, policymakers, and faith leaders.
  • Explore innovative approaches to integrating faith and health for sustainable well-being.

This two-day conference will feature keynote presentations, panel discussions, and roundtable sessions, encouraging a multi-perspective engagement with health, healing, and faith practices.

Join the Conversation

The Faith and Health Conference 2025 promises to be an enriching forum for meaningful discussions on the dynamic relationship between faith and healing in East-Central Africa. Participants will leave with fresh insights, new research collaborations, and practical strategies for addressing healthcare challenges in the region.

Mark your calendar and be part of this transformative dialogue!

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,