Faith-Based Diabetes Prevention

Bangladesh is facing a rapidly increasing burden of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), posing a major challenge to the health system and national development. Despite ongoing efforts, early detection, awareness, and sustained lifestyle modification remain limited, particularly among underserved and rural populations.

To address this gap, the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh (BADAS), in collaboration with the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Islamic Foundation, has developed and implemented an innovative faith-based diabetes prevention model. This initiative leverages the strong social influence of religious leaders to promote health awareness, early screening, and behaviour change at the community level.

The model has generated robust scientific evidence, including a cluster-randomised clinical trial demonstrating a 43% reduction in progression to diabetes among high-risk individuals. It has also received recognition from global partners and represents a cost-effective, culturally grounded, and scalable solution, aligned with Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and SDG targets.

The program — initially implemented through mosques and community religious platforms — integrates health promotion into existing social structures.

• Engagement and training of religious leaders (Imams and other faith leaders)
• Establishment of "Diabetes Corners" for screening and counselling
• Delivery of faith-aligned lifestyle messages during sermons (Khutbah and equivalent teachings)
• Community-based screening for blood glucose and blood pressure
• Referral linkage to healthcare facilities (BADAS and government services)
• Digital tracking, registry, and follow-up systems

The program is now evolving into a multi-faith model, engaging leaders from Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist communities, ensuring inclusivity and broader applicability across diverse populations.

• Implementation in 100+ mosques across Bangladesh
• High community acceptance and participation
• Demonstrated clinical effectiveness (reduced diabetes incidence)
• Integration with national NCD prevention strategies
• Recognition by global organizations (WHO, IDF, WDF)
• Positioning Bangladesh as a global leader in faith-based health innovation

Building on this success, Bangladesh has a unique opportunity to scale this model nationally and globally.

To accelerate scale-up and global adoption, Bangladesh will host a high-level International Prevention Summit on Faith-Based Diabetes Prevention in Dhaka.

This initiative directly supports:

• National NCD Control Program (NCDC)
• Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda
• SDG 3.4: Reduction of premature mortality from NCDs
• WHO Global Diabetes Compact
• Digital Health Strategy of Bangladesh
• Community-based primary healthcare strengthening

The program will be implemented through a multi-sectoral collaboration model:

• BADAS — Technical leadership and implementation
• DGHS (MoHFW) — Policy alignment and health system integration
• Islamic Foundation & other faith institutions — Faith network mobilization
• Development Partners (WHO, WDF, JICA, IDF, OIC-COMSTECH) — Technical and financial support

We respectfully seek support from government and development partners to:

• Endorse and integrate the program into national NCD strategies
• Facilitate multi-ministerial and multi-faith collaboration
• Support national scale-up and sustainability
• Enable international dissemination and adaptation
• Position Bangladesh as a global model for community-based NCD prevention

Bangladesh has demonstrated that faith, community, and science can work together to address one of the most pressing public health challenges of our time.

With strong leadership, multi-sectoral collaboration, and global partnerships, this model can be scaled nationally and internationally — transforming millions of lives.

We, the participants of the International Conference on Faith-Based Diabetes Prevention — representing governments, global organisations, scientific bodies, and faith-based institutions — acknowledge the escalating burden of diabetes and related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across low- and middle-income countries, especially among the 57 OIC Member States.

We recognise the transformative role of faith institutions and religious leaders in promoting healthy lifestyles, influencing social norms, and expanding reach to underserved communities. We further acknowledge that this role extends across diverse faith traditions, including Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, and Buddhism, and that inclusive engagement of multi-faith leaders is essential for equitable and culturally responsive diabetes prevention globally.

We reaffirm our commitment to global frameworks — including the UN Political Declaration on NCDs, the WHO Global Diabetes Compact, SDG Target 3.4, and the OIC Strategic Health Program of Action (SHPA) 2024–2030 — that call for equitable, culturally grounded, and sustainable diabetes prevention strategies.

We commend Bangladesh's leadership in developing the Diabetes Prevention through Religious Leaders (DPRL) programme, implemented jointly by BADAS, NCDC-DGHS, and the Islamic Foundation with support from WDF. The programme demonstrated, through a cluster-randomised clinical trial (JAMA Network Open, 2025), a 43% relative reduction in incident diabetes, establishing a robust, evidence-based, and community-driven model recognised globally.

We, the undersigned, affirm our shared conviction that faith, science, and solidarity can unite to prevent diabetes and foster healthier, more resilient communities. We pledge to implement the Dhaka Declaration's principles within our respective institutions and countries — transforming mosques, temples, churches, monasteries, and all places of worship into inclusive centres of health, compassion, and prevention.

Adopted in Dhaka, Bangladesh, August 2026.