For many of the 57 member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Council (OIC), 2022 is going to be a challenge. Issues that have plagued countries will continue, while new challenges will arise as nations battle to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, climatic disruptions, and socio-political instability.

There will be much to discuss at the General Secretariat of the OIC’s 35th session of the Islamic Committee of the International Crescent (ICIC) on 5 January. While there are pockets of stability and socio-economic development in the OIC, notably the Gulf countries and the more economically developed Southeast Asian nations of Malaysia and Indonesia, the challenges are particularly acute in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, with humanitarian crises, rising unemployment, inequality and inflation.

According to medical and security specialist International SOS’s Risk Outlook 2022, OIC countries are among the most ‘extreme’, with Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and Iraq in the top five most dangerous countries to visit this year. Other nations in the ‘extreme’ category include Mali, Yemen, and Somalia as well as certain parts of Nigeria and Pakistan.