First Expert Meeting of the OIC Network on Population and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born and Child Health (OIC RMNCH Net) was kicked off
Date: 02-04 December 2015
Venue: Ankara - Türkiye

In line with the decision of the Fourth Islamic Conference of Health Ministers held in Jakarta, Indonesia in October 2013, SESRIC and UNFPA Arab States Regional Office launched the First Expert Meeting of the OIC Network on Population and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born and Child Health which took place at SESRIC Headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, on 2-4 December 2015. The meeting was participated by a group of interdisciplinary experts in this area from OIC region who engage in collective efforts to share information and knowledge in an endeavour to improve OIC RMNCH Net.

The meeting was the first step in the establishment of the OIC Network which will serve as a deposit of innovative ideas, problem solving and best practices as well as a platform for disseminating knowledge to OIC countries. Members of the Network will engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and disseminate and exchange innovative ideas, best practices and viable means of addressing challenges to improve the health of mothers and children in OIC member countries, through building rapport and working relationships that enable them to learn from each other.

The meeting listened a number of presentations on different aspects of the reproductive, maternal, new-born and child health against the backdrop of the OIC Strategic Programme of Action 2014-2013 (OIC SHPA) and new global post-2015 development framework. The meeting also hosts round table discussions around contemporary issues on population dynamic and demographic dividend, maternal and new-born health where experts reflected upon the global and regional developments and experiences in a view to define the substantive research agenda of the Network.

On the occasion of the partnership agreement signed between SESRIC and UNFPA Arab States Regional Office at the outset of the meeting H.E. Ambassador Musa Kulaklıkaya has addressed the gathering where he underlined that over the last two decades, many OIC Countries have witnessed significant improvement in health care coverage and services and, consequently, they recorded declining trends in maternal, new-born and child mortality rates. Nevertheless, despite this improvement, he stated, there is a heightened requirement for equity orientation across health-related components of the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, as good health of women, infants and children is essential for the sustainable development, and there is still much work to be done in OIC Countries.