The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the International Islamic Centre for Population Studies and Research (IICPSR), Al-Azhar University have agreed to collaborate to strengthen and scale up religious approaches to address key risk behaviours hindering health of women and children from an Islamic perspective. The regional operational framework seeks to consolidate regional efforts combating harmful traditional practices through: 1) advocacy with/within religious authorities/leaders, health professionals, media and legislators; 2) capacity-building to create, facilitate, develop and forge a political and community-level commitment to fight against harmful traditional practices; and 3) awareness-raising and communication for behavior change.
