ABSTRACT
Health is recognized as an important component of the international development agenda. This chapter investigates Nigerian Pentecostal approaches to healing and healthcare. It adopts an assets-based approach, which explores the health assets of Pentecostal communities and their contributions (or otherwise) to public health outcomes. The popularity of the Pentecostal practice of divine healing in Nigeria stems from its resonance with African traditional worldviews and the context of poverty in communities where access to affordable healthcare is restricted. Increasingly, however, Nigerian Pentecostals are embracing a holistic model of healing that combines beliefs in divine healing with the use of modern medicine. Nigerian Pentecostals are also engaged in healthcare interventions in the wider community. However, Pentecostal understandings of illness and health can sometimes be detrimental to positive public health outcomes. The chapter begins by surveying the field of religion and health. Second, it sketches the landscape of health in Nigeria. Third, the chapter examines the health-seeking behaviours of Nigerian Pentecostals, drawing upon the concept of “healthworlds” (Germond and Cochrane 2010). Finally, the chapter considers Nigerian Pentecostal responses to three major health issues: HIV/AIDS, maternal and reproductive health, and disability. While the main focus of the chapter is the Nigerian context, it also examines Nigerian Pentecostal health practices in the diaspora.
