Next of kin

Doaa El-Bey follows the latest pan-Arab project for family health

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Working towards improving the quality of life for families in the Arab region, a four-day conference attended by officials from 20 states, scholars and journalists as well as representatives of relevant regional and world organisations commended surveys undertaken in seven countries by the Pan-Arab Project for Family Health (PAPFAM), encouraging other states to follow suit. Reconfirming the importance of these surveys to knowledge of the health condition of Arab families and encouraging the exchange of experience among the participating states, speakers progressed to the question of raising the standards of general and reproductive health and family planning, particularly in deprived and remote areas, calling on all Arab citizens, particularly men, to unite forces to eliminate female genital mutilation, recommending the study of phenomena like marriage and spinsterhood and the drafting policies for low-income families -- including training, particularly of moderate and influential religious leaders, who are sometimes without the necessary basic information. Speakers expressed a particular interest in the young, underlining youth involvement and adolescent literacy, and suggested that the Arab League should set up a youth fund to finance projects. Likewise female social participation: the conference recommended closing the gap between men and women in decision-making, calling on responsible parties to put together a comprehensive plan for Arab children as well. Next came the significance of research, which was thought to be insufficiently developed in terms of both quantity and quality. Ironically, in the same breath, some 50 excellent papers on a range of topics from demographic trends to the effect of socio-economic developments on the status of the family were discussed.

Supported by the Arab Gulf Programme for the United Nations Development Organisations (AGFUND), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Islamic Organisation for Medical Science (IOMS), the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Social and Economic Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the PAPFAM came into being as a project of the Arab League Social Sector in 1999. It was undertaken in response to a need for detailed information on family-related issues. Ahmed Abdel-Moneim, PAPFAM manager, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the project grew out of the Gulf in the mid-1980s, on the basis of the recommendations of world conferences through the 1990s, notably the 1994 housing and 1995 women's conference held, respectively, in Egypt and China: "We launched the project in response to the demands of several Arab states to cope with rising rates of child mortality." Objectives include the development of a regional database, an index of heath status and "health equity" and a programme for enhancing both awareness and technical skill. In the last seven years, PAPFAM worked in seven countries -- Tunisia and Syria in 2001, Algeria and Djibouti in 2002, Yemen and Morocco in 2003 and Lebanon in 2004 -- helping decision-makers improve policy.

Work that started in Libya and Sudan last year will yield results later this year; next in line are Mauritania, Somalia and Palestine. One notion Abdel-Moneim argues against is that implementing the project in some rather than all Arab states reduces the value of its findings: "It might have been better had we conducted surveys throughout the Arab world simultaneously, but resources are limited; no large enough lump sum was forthcoming. Still, experience gained in one state improved performance in the next, with more effective questionnaires, for instance."

Data collection gives way to analysis, with the resulting reports published and distributed as widely as possible: "we are very keen on publishing results as soon as possible, so that decision-makers can take them into account in time. Wide distribution is in fact a priority, which is why we publish summary reports followed by detailed ones; the results are available on CD and on our website, in both Arabic and English. We also have presentations for live projection to larger gatherings."

PAPFAM also organises workshops, seminars and training programmes for officials at the relevant government bodies, specialist meetings and follow-up programmes to ensure that its programmes are being implemented. Obstacles include lack of coordination among the relevant bodies in each state, red tape and a conventional view that conflicts with PAPFAM's modern methods and, in the cases of remote areas in Yemen or Djibouti, for example, inadequate infrastructure. Yet Abdel-Moneim sounds an optimistic note, pointing out that the work of PAPFAM should become progressively easier: "we've already set the basis, improved the framework within which to implement the project and learned a few lessons from our experience. I expect that by the next conference, scheduled to take place in May 2007, we will show the results of the survey in five new states and convince several more to join the project in the future..."