Arabic-language Resource Center Now Online The Population Council recently launched an online resource center offering more than 80 Council publications in Arabic. The response from Arabic speakers has been immediate and positive. “This step is a milestone in the history of research in the Arab region,” writes Ahmed R. A. Ragab, associate professor of reproductive health at Al-Azhar University, Egypt. “Producing the publications is not the end, it is their utilization. It is extremely important to target the policymakers and the program planners, the population at large, the students and young researchers, the many researchers in the Arab region for whom the English language is difficult. By having this site, you increase utilization tremendously, which will be reflected positively in the overall population and health policies in the region, and in the quality of life of millions of men, women, and children.” Available for free download from the Council Web site, the articles present research results in such areas as biomedicine, reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, gender and family dynamics, and transitions to adulthood. Some articles present research conducted in Arabic-speaking countries, while others offer findings from Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, where useful and transferable lessons have been learned. Titles include “The school environment in Egypt: A situation analysis of public preparatory schools”; “Arab women: A profile of diversity and change”; and “Promoting healthy relationships and HIV/STI prevention for young men: Positive findings from an intervention study in Brazil.”  | Jonathan F. Fanton (left), president of The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with Ragui Assaad in Cairo.
Photo credit: ElDaw Suliman/Population Council |
“Response to the publication in Arabic of so many quality Population Council studies has been gratifyingly positive,” says Ragui Assaad, the Council’s regional director for West Asia and North Africa. “By some reckonings, Arabic is the fifth most widely spoken language on Earth, with around 200 million speakers. It’s very exciting to have the opportunity to provide such needed, evidence-based research to this huge new constituency.” Nafisa Bedri, of Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman, Sudan, agrees: “This is definitely going to be a very valuable source for all of us working in the Arab world.” With funding from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Population Council established the online Arabic-language resource center to increase dissemination of research findings that address population and reproductive health issues in the Middle East. The MacArthur grant supported the translation of the publications and nearly 70 Council Web pages, virtually all of which will be included in the 2006 edition of the free CD-ROM, Population Council: Selected Publications, when it is published in late summer. To pre-order the selected publications CD-ROM, contact dwarn@popcouncil.org. (Return to issue contents)
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