IANA Faith-Medicine Project

In 2017 during a measles outbreak, we mobilized all Islamic centers, Imams, community health professionals to increase community awareness and encourage immunizations of children, along with the Minnesota Department of Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics, MN Chapter.

 The Islamic Association of North America (IANA) has partnered with the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Academy of Pediatrics Foundation in 2017, 2018 and 2019 to teach “Faith and Medicine” with a focus on immunizations by answering parent and elders questions about health topics, including immunizations.

 Yesterday May 14, 2018 we went Islamic Society of Willmar for two reasons, child and family health event organized by Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Islamic Society of Willmar, and IANA. Turn out was good and Willmar Community gave us great hospitality, special thanks to all Willmar Community, Imam Abdirahman Geelle, Katherine Cairns the Executive Director of MNAAP and all the Health professionals who were participated. The second one was welcoming the month of Ramadan.

Over the past years, we have partnered with nine Minnesota mosques and Imams in Burnsville, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Owatonna, Rochester, and Willmar that serve primarily Somali families in those communities. Our partnership to teach “Faith and Medicine” was supported with grant funds in 2017 from the Minnesota Academy of Pediatrics Foundation and in 2018 with grant funds from the Minnesota Department of Health. We reached over 14,400 Somali during Ramadan in 2017 with a strong immunization message during the measles outbreak of 2017. We heard from pediatricians that we partnered with that over 2,000 Somali children were immunized during that time. Fifteen different pediatricians were invited into these mosques to answer Somali parent and elder questions about immunizations in sessions usually lasting two hours each.