Eminent Islamic religious scholars from Afghanistan and Pakistan have reiterated that polio vaccines are not only safe and in compliance with Islamic principles, but also a religious and moral duty incumbent on all parents, in a joint declaration issued at the conclusion of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Eminent Ulema Conference on 15 April in Muscat, Oman.

The two day Conference is an innovative step in the global effort to stop poliovirus. For the first time, the IAG convened religious scholars from both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan

scholars of the South East Region (SER) of the country being one of its three high-risk regions for polio. The four provinces of SER share a common border with high-risk regions in Pakistan where cross border transmission of polio has been an issue for years along with high numbers of refusals due to religious misconception. In every campaign,

approximately 18 000 children are missed due to such refusals, including more than 7000 in Khost province alone. The number of refusals had also increased in recent months following a Voice of America radio report that detailed challenges facing a nationwide measles campaign in Indonesia due to the rejection of the vaccine by some religious scholars in that country.

THE ISLAMIC ADVISORY GROUP QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER, ISSUE 11, APRIL 2019

Afghanistan-Pakistan scholars reiterate: vaccinations comply with Islamic Shariah, parents obligated to vaccinate their children

border in a bid to appreciate their value as community leaders and to secure bilateral support for polio eradication efforts across the joint corridors through which the virus is being transmitted. This came as one of the prominent recommendations of the Fifth Annual Islamic Advisory Group Meeting in 2018, bringing together around 30 Islamic scholars from the two countries along with representatives of IAG partner organizations from Al Azhar Al Sharif, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).

The Conference was inaugurated by H.E. Dr Darwish bin Saif Al Maharbi, Undersecretary for Administrative and Financial Affairs, Ministry of Health, Oman and H.E. Sheikh Dr Kahlan bin Nabhan Al Kharusi, Assistant Grand Mufti of Oman. It was also addressed by Dr Saleh Abbas Goma Saleh, Deputy of Al Azhar Al Sharif; Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean; Dr Yagoub Al Mazrou, Chairman of the IAG Executive Committee; and two other members of the EC: Dr El Bashier Sallam, IsDB and Mr Abdunur Sekindi, OIC.

International Islamic Fiqh Academy

Eminent Ulema from Afghanistan and Pakistan with the Deputy of Al Azhar Al Sharif, the Chairman of the IAG/EC, representatives of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Development Bank, along with the WHO Regional Director.

Religious scholars in the province of Khost, Afghanistan issued a signed declaration in support of polio vaccinations and routine immunization while committing themselves to support the eradication of the disease. Around 80 religious scholars and community influencers from all districts of Khost attended the conference on 11 March and were briefed on the importance of immunization in Islam against diseases such as polio and the responsibility of religious scholars and parents towards children’s health. They shared their concerns about the vaccine while members of the National Islamic Advisory Group (NIAG) providing responses to their inquiries. After extensive discussions the participants expressed satisfaction and promised to support the programme in their respective areas. The NIAG, in cooperation with the National Emergency Operations Center, UNICEF and WHO plan such conferences to engage religious

Ulema in Khost province of Afghanistan support polio eradication

The event and declaration are expected to have a positive impact by reducing refusals and increasing coverage by vaccination campaigns. Photo: Sayed Kamal Shah, 2019.

The meeting hosted 24 religious

scholars from all regions of Puntland

who learned about and discussed

vaccination refusals and NIAG’s

activities in the country, as well as

the experience of other NIAGs in

Afghanistan and Pakistan. Some of

the participants had also taken part in

the national IAG meeting that took

place in Hargeisa, Somaliland, in

December 2016 and shared their

experience using awareness-raising

messages with their congregations

and communities since that time.

The National IAG of Somalia held its

first meeting with Islamic scholars in

Garowe, Puntland, on 19 March. The

meeting hosted by the Ministry of

Justice and Religious Affairs was

inaugurated by H.E. Dr Jama Farah

Hassan, the zonal Minister of Health

and was joined by WHO

Representative Dr Mamunur Malik.

The Minister appreciated IAG’s work

on critical health initiatives and

appealed to the religious and social

leadership of participants to support

health education activities.

NIAG Somali meetings scholars in Puntland

Student training workshops commence at Al Azhar University in Egypt and the Islamic University in Uganda

planned for this year that will target students from the countries at risk of polio especially Nigeria and Somalia.

In the meantime the IAG continues to work on extending its student training programme to other Islamic universities hosting international students from polio endemic and at-risk countries, including those working under the umbrella of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. IAG’s training curriculum was developed by professors of medicine and Shariah at Al Azhar University in 2017 under the direction of the IICPSR. The training manual used for these workshops has been translated from the original Arabic into several other languages of the Region.

University’s International Islamic Center for Population Studies and Research (IICPSR) held eight workshops in March and April training around 200 students of religious studies from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Somalia. At the end of each workshop students were invited to deliver a presentation demonstrating their newly acquired understanding of polio eradication efforts as well as other health initiatives supported by IAG.

In a similar fashion, the Islamic University in Uganda conducted its first training workshop of the year in April attended by 27 Ugandan and Somali students from the faculties of Shariah, medicine and nursing. Five more training workshops are

Students of Shariah and religious studies from Pakistan at Al Azhar University attending IAG workshop in March 2019

Fourteen wild polio

cases of type 1 have

been reported so far in

2019:

6 in Afghanistan

8 in Pakistan.

Efforts are ongoing

through the

implementation of

national emergency

action plans in both

countries to address

remaining gaps in

coverage and

surveillance, and in

close coordination with

each other.

Polio update

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The Islamic Advisory Group (IAG) was launched in 2013 after consultations between Al

Azhar Al Sharif, the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), the Islamic Development

Bank (IsDB) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) who make up the core

membership of the group along with other religious scholars, technical experts and

academics. It aims to muster support from Muslim religious scholars and groups, donor

countries, and organizations for the global effort to end polio in the high-risk areas of

priority countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia).

About the IAG

A new set of training workshops are taking place at partner universities to train students of religious and health studies on IAG’s curriculum tackling polio

eradication, routine immunization and other maternal and child health issues from both the religious and health perspectives. Al Azhar