IAG reaffirms commitment to addressing current and emerging public health challenges in the ...

13 December 2022, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – At its ninth annual meeting, the Islamic Advisory Group (IAG) reiterated its commitment to addressing current and emerging public health challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and beyond and using religion to dispel misconceptions around public health. This year’s IAG meeting was hosted by the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with the participation of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), Al Azhar Al Sharif, and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).  The theme of the meeting is “Partnering for change: leveraging faith to promote public health”, to highlight the role of the IAG and its partners in engaging communities around the Region to promote public health. An expansion of the role of the IAG, based on its success and lessons learned from implementation of polio and COVID-19 response interventions, was discussed during the meeting. The repositioning of its role is based on leveraging religious leaders and scholars for greater engagement on broader public health issues related to maternal and child health, routine immunization and healthier lifestyles. The new vision for the IAG is to “Promote health and well-being of Muslim communities and populations at large through Islamic teachings to build ownership, solidarity and support for public health interventions.” This includes expanding the network of Islamic academic institutions, as well as a geographical expansio...
Source: WHO EMRO News - Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news