Background

The Arab countries are sharing similar challenges and population trends facing the region, and this requires drawing on some successful experiences in the field of implementing population policies, in addition to promoting the exchange of experiences and best practices in this regard.

Good practices means the strategies, initiatives, projects, partnerships, means of cooperation between the various authorities, and the administrative systems that the state has implemented at national level and had a positive return and impact on the situation of the population at the level of performance of the entity concerned with population affairs, population trends and the quality of services provided.

Within the framework of cooperation between the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and Partners in Population and Development in accordance with the memorandum of understanding signed between the two parties, and in implementation of Resolution No. (6) issued by the second regular session of the Arab Council on Population and Development regarding the organization of events to enhance the exchange of experiences and review best practices in the field of population and development through Visual communication technology. The Population Policies Department (Technical Secretariat of the Arab Council for Population and Development) intends to organize jointly with Partners in Population and Development and The United Nations Population Fund, a webinar to share experiences on “Exchange of experiences and review of best practices: Islam and reproductive health“.

Partners in Population and Development, with its 27 member countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, representing 59% of the world’s population, promotes South-South cooperation through the exchange of knowledge, experiences and best practices among Member States in the field of reproductive health, population and development issues. It also implements a wide range of programs to contribute to the development of reproductive health, population and development programs in developing countries. The organization, in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund, is also jointly working to document, disseminate and replicate best practices to respond to the specific needs of member countries.

 

Methodology

The webinar will be held via Zoom (instruction is given below) and will include participants from member states of the Arab Council for Population and Development and from Partners in Population and Development.  The keynote speaker of the webinar will be Dr Jamal Abu Surour, President of the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chairman of the Scientific and Technological Committee of the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the World Health Organization, and Director of the International Islamic Center for Population Studies and Research at Al-Azhar University. Dr. “Abu Surour” will speak on Islam and reproductive health issues to serve as a reference and guiding framework for the webinar’s topic on Islam, reproductive health and family planning. Then, the experience from Indonesia, biggest Islamic country, Treasurer and member of Partners in Population and Development will be presented as a pioneer in the field of Islam and family planning programs.

The webinar shall include the following interventions:

• Country’s experience in applying tools and mechanisms proven to be effective in the field of reproductive health
• Effective activities related to family planning programs, reproductive health, birth spacing and meeting the unmet needs of hard-to-reach population group
• The most prominent challenges and how to use partnerships at multiple levels to meet the challenges,
• The results and gains that have been made and their repercussions on population trends, which are characterized by being realistic and tangible results.
• Provide actionable guidance and advice, key success elements, including lessons learned and national plans to overcome obstacles the country has faced while implementing population policies.

 

Objectives of the Webinar

The webinar will seek to achieve the following objectives:

1. Discussing ways of transferring knowledge and exchanging experiences in population and development between countries,
2. Promoting the exchange of experiences and achievements to enrich field experiences and best practices through reciprocal and participatory learning that would respond to population challenges,
3. Providing a framework for policy approaches in the field of reproductive health,
4. Participation of countries with successful experiences in the population policies adopted regarding family planning and reproductive health at the national level,
5. Highlighting the good and effective practices that have been applied in the field of reproductive health from an Islamic perspective by drawing on the experience of Indonesia and other countries with similar successful experience,
6. Discussing and analyzing reproductive health issues from an Islamic perspective and reviewing Islam’s position on them.
7. Providing participants with knowledge and gaining experience from international and regional experiences of leading countries and methodologies used in the field of family planning and reproductive health
8. Motivating the participating countries to implement the recommendations of successful models within their national contexts, especially the recommendations emanating from countries with which they are socially and demographically similar,
9. Strengthening South-South cooperation between member states of the Arab Council for Population and Development and members of Partners in Population and Development.

 

Participants

The webinar includes members of the Arab Council for Population and Development from the heads of the national population councils and committees in the Arab countries, member states of the Partners in Population and Development Organization, and representatives of the United Nations Population Fund – Arab States Office and other partners.

 

Date and time

The webinar will be held on July 27, 2021 at 10:00 (Cairo Time)

 

Language of the Webinar

The webinar will be conducted in English and Arabic. Simultaneous translation will be ensured.

 

Agenda

Time (Cairo Time)	Presentation
10:00 – 10:30	Inaugural Session: Inaugural Statement: H.E. Ms. Haifa Abu Ghezala; Assistant Secretary General, Head of Social affairs Sector, League of Arab states Statement by Mr. Adnene Ben Haj Aissa, Executive Director, Partners in Population and Development (PPD) Statement by Dr. Luay Shabaneh, Regional Director of the Arab states, UNFPA Statement by Prof. Habib Ghedira, President Director General of the National Board of Family and Population, Chair of the Arab Council on Population and Development and Secretary of PPD Board
Session on Country Presentations and Interventions: Chaired by Prof. Habib Ghedira
10:30 – 10:55	Keynote speech on Islam and Reproductive Health by Dr. Jamal Abu Sourour, Director of International Islamic Center for Research in Population, University Al Azhar, EGYPT
10:55 – 11:10	Indonesian Experience on Islam and RH/FP by Prof. Mohamed Rizal Damanik, Deputy for Training, Research and Development National Population and Family Planning Board (NPFPB-BKKBN), Indonesia
11:10 – 11:25	Tunisian experience on Islam and Reproductive Health by Prof Slim Ben Sheikh, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Tunisia
11:25 – 12:45	Interventions from: Jordan:  Best practices in information sharing and SRH service delivery Bahrain: The experience of the Kingdom of Bahrain on “Reducing maternal mortality  of women with severe anemia” Algeria: The experience of Algeria in developing communication network between religious counsellors and RH/FP services users Iraq: Best practices in RH Kuwait: Experience of Kuwait Egypt: Egyptian experience Morocco: Experience of Morocco Mauritania: Men’s Responsibilities in RH: Religious foundations
12:45 – 13:00	Closing session

 

Zoom Information

Please join the Webinar with the ID: 983 1780 8237

 

::Download Flyer of the Webinar