The Inter-agency Working Group (IAWG) on Reproductive Health in Crises will be holding its annual meeting in Cairo this year from 5-7 November at the World Health Organization (WHO).

The tentative agenda is now available here. Please note that presentations and times are subject to change.

The Inter-agency Working Group (IAWG) on Reproductive Health in Crises Terms of Reference will be discussed and updated at the meeting.

The meeting evaluation is available here. Please send completed evaluations to Chelsea Cooper (chelseac@archq.org).

Objectives

Participants will:

• Review progress towards achieving the programmatic goals outlined in the Terms of Reference following the 2007 IAWG meeting held in Nairobi;
• Share information, identify key areas of common work, plan next steps and determine areas of coordination and collaboration for 2008-2009; and
• Establish a regional IAWG forum for the Middle East/North Africa region, which will serve to share information and lessons learned across projects and enable synergistic partnerships to minimize duplication of efforts and address gaps.

Who Should Attend

The meeting will bring together a wide range of individuals dedicated to improving reproductive health care for persons affected by armed conflict or natural disasters. All organisations working in reproductive health or in crisis-affected settings are encouraged to attend the meeting, particularly those working in the region. The meeting venue has the capacity to accommodate over 150 participants, and will be conducted in English, with simultaneous translation available in Arabic.

Scholarships

The IAWG has re-opened scholarship applications, but only for participants working in the Middle East/Eastern Mediterranean/Northern Africa regions. Please apply by 26 September 2008 to be considered.