The Middle East Sexual Health Committee was established in 2009 at the Congress of the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) in Sweden. The committee started with four core members (in the picture above) and it is growing, now extending to eight countries within the region. Most of our members are individual members of WAS mainly due to lack of existence of sexological associations within the region. However with the growth of such organizations, future efforts will be made to encourage membership from range of organizations as well.
The World Sexual Health Day has been celebrated in seven countries in the region despite the political turbulence, multiple natural disasters and overlapping with the month of Ramadan. This shows that Middle Eastern sexologists are very committed and devoted to the field.
Mission: The Middle East Sexual Health Committee (MESHC) was established to support the development of sexological associations in the Middle Eastern countries, and to promote sexology, sexual health and sexual rights in the region. Growing in popularity, the committee is recognized as the overarching umbrella organization for professionals of human sexuality in the Middle East.
Members 2017-2021
Chair: Faysal El Kak (Lebanon)
Members:
Elham Atalla (Bahrain)
Qadeer Baig (Pakistan)
Sara Nasserzadeh (United States)
Affiliate Members:
Wafa Alomari (Egypt)
Pierre Assalian (Canada)
Seyed Ali Azin (Iran)
Amini El Khatim (Lebanon)
Amr El Meliegy (Egypt/Saudi Arabia)
Farideh Farahani (Iran)
R. Y. Jalali (Pakistan)
Abbas Nasehi (Iran)
Firrozeh Raisi (Iran)
Dina Seddiqi (Lebanon)
Mehmet Sungur (Turkey)
Rola Yasmin (Lebanon)
Members Bio
Faysal El Kak
Faysal El Kak, MD, MS, ARCOG, is involved in clinical, teaching, and educational services of obstetrics gynecology and sexual health. He is the coordinator of the Women Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) Program at AUBMC. He is also a Co-PI of the research project “Youth sexual and reproductive health” at FHS, AUB, and coordinator of the Network of Arab Scholars on Sexuality Sexual health (NASSS). Dr El Kak has many publications, book chapters, and couple of books related to sexual, reproductive, and maternal health. Dr El Kak continues to work on research, services, consultancies and advocacy to promote sexual and reproductive health to women and youth.
Sara Nasserzadeh
Dr. Sara Nasserzadeh, PhD is a Social Psychologist and a thought leader in the fields of Cultural Fluency, Sexual Health & Relationships. She created and hosted a program called the “Whispers” for the BBC World Service on sexuality and relationship issues, the first of its kind in the Middle East, which received BBC’s Innovation of the Year Award in 2007. Dr. Nasserzadeh has been a senior cultural advisor and strategic consultant for governments, UN agencies & Fortune 500 companies across 37 countries. DatingAdvice.com named her as one of the 10 Best Sex and Dating Experts in 2015. She currently serves at the Board of Religion and Sexual & Reproductive Health Rights Task Force of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Dr. Nasserzadeh is based in California.