Arab World Newsletter

This newsletter is devoted to the ARAB World. It offers a view into the work done by the Member Associations and the regional office.

Regional Office News

Symposium on youth and combating violence against women: The Arab World Regional Office, represented by the Regional Director, Dr. Fadoua Bakhadda, participated in the symposium organized by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the National Youth Observatory in Tunisia entitled “Youth and combating violence against women” on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Dr. Bakhadda emphasized during her intervention the importance of educating young people since their young age on the values of equality and highlighting the equal role of women with men in society, with an emphasis on the importance of comprehensive reproductive education for adolescents and youth due to its importance in terms of awareness, especially about human rights principles, gender-based violence and the importance of eliminating all kinds of gender-based violence and discrimination.

The symposium was also an important opportunity to further define the role of the Federation and its member associations, as well as to build relationships with representatives of the participating Arab institutions, organizations and embassies.

Memorandum of understanding with the League of Arab states

The IPPF Arab World Region seeks to further strengthen relations with regional and international institutions in order to activate joint work in the field of promoting reproductive health issues. In this context, the Arab World Region signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the League of Arab States on cooperation and coordination in relation to population and development issues.

Through this agreement, the Arab World Regional Office will be able to conduct joint activities with the League of Arab States, exchange information, representation and attend meetings as observers. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Regional Director, Dr. Fadoua Bakhadda, on behalf of the Arab World Region, and by H.E Ambassador, Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Assistant Secretary General, on behalf of the League of Arab States.

Social Enterprise and E commerce  

The Arab World Regional Office, in cooperation with the Social Enterprise-SE HUB in Sri Lanka, held 2 webinars for the benefit of the Arab World member associations; the first webinar aimed to clarify the concept of social enterprise and the tools that were developed to help the member associations in developing a more comprehensive understanding of the topic and sharing experiences, while the second webinar was about E-commerce and its importance.

Members’ News

Bahrain Reproductive Health Association:The association was one of the first pioneers in the national campaign (Together – For – the Safety of – Bahrain) led by the Supreme Council for Women, which is considered one of the most important institutions in the Kingdom. Accordingly, the association’s relationship with the Council was strengthened through its support for the campaign through its social media sites, whereas the association encouraged volunteers to participate in the campaign through volunteering or material participation for those who can.

Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association:
During the lockdown period, the association continued to provide beneficiaries with family planning methods through its health workers, by distributing about 500 health kits containing basic preventive material against Coronavirus and family planning methods. This is in addition to using social media sites to raise awareness about reproductive health, gender-based violence and legal services.

In addition to this, with a view to ensure sustained provision of services during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Palestinian association launched the toll-free Helpline to facilitate women’s access to services, whether it is psychological and social support or health advice services, and the “Follow Me” service for the centers’ phone lines that was activated in order to stay in touch with women who need services and guidance. The association provided nearly 190,000 sexual and reproductive health services to almost 45,000 beneficiaries in the first half of 2020.

Syrian Family Planning Association:The association signed a memorandum of understanding with Her Infertility Initiative, which is a community initiative that includes specialist doctors, aiming to provide health support to the health sector and community groups during the COVID-19 outbreak. The memorandum established a hotline with the aim of providing the necessary health advice on Coronavirus, provided a workplace and a mobile medical clinic with the aim of conducting home visits to patients to provide first aid, in addition to making field visits to the most deprived areas and providing medical examination and free medications.

The Syrian association also participated in a number of seminars and awareness campaigns, for example, an awareness campaign about the harmful effects of drugs of all kinds on the individual and society in Adra prison – the women’s central prison in the Damascus countryside, in the presence of 50 female inmates. This is in addition to organizing campaigns for early detection of breast cancer in the association’s clinics in Syrian governorates

Egyptian Family Planning Association:The association supported isolation hospitals in different governorates by providing material support through the procurement of sets of masks and personal protective equipment for service providers in isolation hospitals to protect themselves and through community participation in meeting the needs of these hospitals. The association’s branches in the governorates also conducted awareness campaigns by printing posters and leaflets to raise awareness about the Covid-19 pandemic.

In relation to youth programming, the association used social media in raising awareness and disseminating information on comprehensive reproductive education issues by holding a competition during the month of Ramadan with the implementing partners (Youth Peer Education Network (Y-PEER) Egypt – the Youth and Development Consultancy Institute (Etijah) – Love Matters Project).

Yemeni Association for Reproductive Health: The youth of the association played a distinctive role through coordination and participation in issuing awareness messages on social media networks through young influencers from the Yemeni community who have a wide audience base in society, where they presented health messages to raise awareness on reproductive health services in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, its importance, and points of delivery, whether through the association or the Ministry of Health centers. These messages had a wide resonance among the youth.

The association also carried out field awareness activities in youth gatherings that included reproductive health services in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and methods of virus transmission and prevention. During the awareness-raising activities, masks and rubber gloves were distributed to the target audience. This activity was implemented in both the Capital Municipality and Ibb Governorate, and raised awareness among 1800 youth.

Additionally, the Yemeni Association provided reproductive health services through centers supported by the association in both the Capital Municipality and Aden Governorate. Al Khalil Center, located in Shamlan area in Maeen District, was also rehabilitated by the Yemeni association for reproductive health with the support of the Japanese government (Japan Trust Fund).

Tunisian Sexual and Reproductive Health Association: The association implemented a project targeting migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in times of crisis, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the association held many training courses for the benefit of young migrants and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa, Syria and Libya about their legal rights and provided them with information on sexual and reproductive health, HIV screening campaigns and distribution of 200,000 condoms, in addition to referral of HIV patients to specialized hospitals for free treatment. On the other hand, the association continued to provide its services to these groups during the Covid-19 pandemic without interruption, as hotlines were set up in Arabic and French to provide psychological support, counseling and guidance, whether to shelters for women victims of violence or to partner legal firms for legal aid, especially with regard to the regularization of residence permits in Tunisia.

Sudan Family Planning Association: The Sudan Family Planning Association played a vital role in managing the humanitarian crisis resulting from the displacement from Tigray in Ethiopia to Kassala and Gedaref States. In partnership with the United Nations agencies, concerned government agencies and UNHCR, the association has supported the displaced in the camps by analyzing the conditions of refugee camps in the mentioned states, establishing and maintaining coordination and cooperation with partners and stakeholders, and strengthening the provision of integrated reproductive health services.

Djiboutian Association for Family Planning: The association adopted a new approach in educating young people on reproductive health issues, raising their commitment and work in favor of their reproductive rights, and promoting gender equality, by organizing a concert in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund entitled “J’OZ” (you have everything inside of you, you just have to dare). The aim of this concert was to reach out for young people wherever they are, through different styles of music and artistic events that are familiar to them. The lyrics thus easily convey positive messages aimed at changing young people’s behavior.