Middle East and North Africa Program
PRB's Middle East and North Africa (MENA) program, initiated in 2001 with funding from the Ford Foundation, responds to the region's need for timely and objective information on population, socioeconomic, and reproductive health issues. The project explores the linkages among these issues and provides evidence-based policy and program recommendations for decisionmakers in the region. Working closely with research organizations in the region, the project team produces a series of policy briefs (in English and Arabic) on current population and reproductive health topics, conducts workshops on policy communications, and makes presentations at regional and international conferences.
In 2009, the MacArthur Foundation provided support to translate several of PRB's flagship publications into Arabic.
See all PRB Arabic publications.
Workshop on Communicating Research Results on Population and Reproductive Health Issues to Policy Audiences
The Population Reference Bureau (PRB), a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, together with the Building Reproductive Health Capacity Project, a joint collaboration between Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) in the United States and the Department of Public Health of Assiut University in Egypt, will host a workshop on communicating research results to policy audiences, in Assiut, Egypt, from Dec. 20 to 24, 2009. The sessions (conducted in English) will help graduate students identify the policy implications of their research findings, understand how research can influence the policy process, and communicate findings. In an active and participatory setting, graduate students will explore research-to-policy gaps and learn about the policy process and barriers to effective use of research, and prepare policy-oriented presentations. This workshop is based on a successful training program, developed by the Population Reference Bureau, that has been enhancing the communication skills of professionals and advocates around the globe since 1996.
MENA PUBLICATIONS AND ONLINE DISCUSSIONS (in chronological order, most recent first)
Abortion in the Middle East and North Africa (September 2008)
(English PDF: 998KB) (Arabic PDF: 1.48MB)
Advancing Research to Inform Reproductive Health Policies in the Middle East and North Africa (September 2008)
(English PDF: 140KB) (Arabic PDF: 1.5MB)
PRB Discuss Online: "The Middle East Youth Bulge," with Ragui Assaad, regional director for West Asia and North Africa, Population Council (May 2008)
Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Middle East and North Africa: A Guide for Reporters (May 2008)
(English PDF: 1.3MB)
Youth in the Middle East and North Africa: Demographic Opportunity or Challenge? (April 2007)
(English PDF: 187KB) (Arabic PDF: 320KB)
Young People's Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Middle East and North Africa (April 2007)
(English PDF: 123KB) (Arabic PDF: 2.47MB)
Time to Intervene: Preventing the Spread of HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa (January 2007)
(English PDF: 181KB) (Arabic PDF: 921KB)
Investing in Reproductive Health to Achieve Development Goals: The Middle East and North Africa (December 2005)
(English PDF: 234KB) (Arabic PDF: 170KB)
Reforming Family Laws to Promote Progress in the Middle East and North Africa (December 2005)
(English PDF: 171KB) (Arabic PDF: 180KB)
Marriage in the Arab World (September 2005)
(English PDF: 226KB) (Arabic PDF: 451KB)
Islam and Family Planning (August 2004)
(English PDF: 286KB) (Arabic PDF: 835KB) (French PDF: 156KB)
Progress Toward the Millennium Development Goals in the Middle East and North Africa (March 2004)
(English PDF: 156KB) (Arabic PDF: 200KB)
Making Motherhood Safer in Egypt (March 2004)
(English PDF: 821KB) (Arabic PDF: 732KB)
Empowering Women, Developing Society: Female Education in the Middle East and North Africa (October 2003)
(English PDF: 144KB) (Arabic PDF: 649KB)
Women's Reproductive Health in the Middle East and North Africa (February 2003)
(English PDF: 234KB)
Finding the Balance: Water Scarcity and Population Demand in the Middle East and North Africa (July 2002)
(English PDF: 789KB) (Arabic PDF: 1.1MB)
Iran's Family Planning Program: Responding to a Nation's Needs (June 2002)
(English PDF: 456KB) (Arabic PDF: 1.08MB)
Population Trends and Challenges in the Middle East and North Africa (October 2001)
(English PDF: 181KB)
MENA publications are available in English (and selected ones in Arabic and French) on PRB's website. Print copies can be ordered free of charge by writing to prborders@prb.org.
MENA Graduate Fellowship Program
MENA Graduate Fellowships in Population, Sexual and Reproductive Health, and Development provided research awards to graduate students from selected MENA countries. Fellows were selected through a competitive process and became part of a network of PRB-supported researchers. MENA Fellows attended a two-week workshop on communicating research to policymakers and published their new research findings online as part of PRB's MENA Working Paper Series:
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Unintended Pregnancies Remain High in Jordan, by Rozzet Jurdi-Salah, University of Western Ontario
(English PDF: 126KB) (Arabic PDF: 357KB)
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Marriage Patterns in Palestine, by Yara Jarallah, Birzeit University
(English PDF: 139KB) (Arabic PDF: 307KB)
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10 Years After Introducing Mobile Clinics in Assuit Governorate, by Ghada Salah El-Deen T. Al-Attar, Assuit University
(English PDF: 114KB)
Contact: Farzaneh (Nazy) Roudi-Fahimi, 202-483-1100.